The Baseball Guru - Previous Top News Stories, Japanese Baseball

September 15, 2002

Matsui Homer Welcomes Him to Select Club in Seibu Victory

Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui celebrated his 1000th career game Sunday at Osaka Dome by drilling his 30th homer, which also makes him just the eighth player in Japanese history, but the first switch hitter, to hit .300 with 30 steals and the same number of dingers. The last one was Hiroshima outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto in 2000. More importantly for the Lions, though, they won it 5-1 to move one step closer to the Pacific League pennant.

Takashi Ishii started for Seibu and was mugged for ten hits, but he held firm and permitted only a ninth inning run for his sixth victory.

Daisuke Miyamoto started for Kintetsu and was shafted for five runs on six hits in four innings to drop to 1-3 on the season.

The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the third when catcher Satoshi Nakajima singled to right with one down and second baseman Hiroshi Hirao walked. Matsui pancaked a double off the rightfield wall to convert Nakajima and Seibu never looked back.

In the fourth, Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera walked and DH Kazuhiro Wada mashed a 1-1 shuuto on the inner half beyond the leftfield wall to make it 3-0.

Matsui then etched his name in the record book in front of 20 relatives sitting in the stands, including his wife Mio and infant daughter Haruna, when he piggybacked on a leadoff single to center by Hirao by mortaring an 88mph fastball on the inside part of the plate and mortared it into the leftcenterfield seats for a 5-1 Lions advantage. Furthermore, it also marked the first time that Seibu has had three 30 homer men on their team in a season since 1992, when Orestes Destrade (now retired), Kazuhiro Kiyohara (who is with Yomiuri) and Koji Akiyama (who just retired) exceeded that mark.

The lone Buffs tally came in their final at bat, when rightfielder Koichi Isobe leadoff with a double down the rightfield line, moved to third on a deep fly ball, and scored on a groundout to second. Ishii then induced another groundout and it was over.

Matsui, who was 4-5 and only a triple short of the cycle in this one, tends, for some reason, to do a lot of memorable things in Osaka. His first game as a pro was at Fujiidera Stadium, the Buffs previous homeground. He went yard at Osaka Dome for his 100th lifetime longball as well as set the PL consecutive games record there. He collects watches, so his wife said that she will buy him another one to celebrate the big homer. Incidently, this was his 17th game with three hits or more in 2002. There is still speculation that he is going to ask to be posted this offseason, the first report about this issue I've seen all season. Dodgers fans, you know what to do.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 0-3 with two walks and is at .331. He leads the circuit with 90 freebies. Third baseman Scott McClain was 1-3 with two strikeouts and is at .268.

For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 2-4 and is at .267.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Takashi Ishii (W, 6-3) IP 9.0 PC 124 H 10 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.36

Kintetsu:

D. Miyamoto (L, 1-3) IP 4.0 PC 79 H 6 HR 2 K 6 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 4.75
S. Yamamoto              IP 0.1 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
Kadokura                   IP 2.2 PC 44 H 2 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.43
T. Yoshida                 IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Misawa                      IP 1.0 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.81

SB: K. Matsui, H. Takagi
2B: K. Matsui, Yoshioka, Rhodes, Isobe
HR: Wada (30), K. Matsui (30)
RBI: K. Matsui 3, Wada 2
IBB: Cabrera
GIDP: Rhodes, Yoshioka, Nakajima

Season Series: Seibu 15, Kintetsu 12

Game Time: 3:17
Attendance: 28,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Yamamoto (1B), Kawaguchi (2B), Nagami (3B)

Akahoshi Two Run Single in Ninth Disappoints Uehara, Giants

Hanshin Tigers centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi rammed a forkball back up through the middle in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the score tied for a game winning single and a 3-2 Tigers victory over the Yomiuri Giants Sunday at Tokyo Dome. Furthermore, it ended an 11 game winning streak by Yomiuri starter Koji Uehara, who went 8.2 innings in defeat.

Tetsuro Kawajiri started for Hanshin and had another strong outing, as he tossed six innings of two run ball on six hits, though he didn't figure in the decision. Instead, reliever Masashi Date went 1.2 scoreless innings, the only runner coming on a catcher's interference call with Daisuke Motoki at the plate in the seventh, to claim his first triumph of the year.

Hanshin shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto got his team off the launching pad with one out in the first, as he took Uehara over the rightcenterfield wall for his first homer of the season and a 1-0 Tigers lead.

Yomiuri first baseman Koji Goto, however, responded with a two out drive into the rightfield bleachers in the second and gridlocked it at 1-1.

Goto then put his side up in the fifth with a leadoff single to center and went to second on a single to left by third baseman Mototsugu Kawanaka before advancing to third on a groundout, after which he was squeezed home by Uehara to make it 2-1 Giants.

But in the ninth, Tigers first baseman George Arias beat out a dribbler toward third. One out later, second baseman Taichiro Kamisaka singled to left. Uehara threw an 87mph fastball to pinch hitter Kentaro Sekimoto, and he pinged it to left. Arias went to round third to go home, but he tripped over Giants third baseman Masahiro Kawai and had to scramble back to the bag while leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu gunned a one hop strike to the plate. Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino ran out and argued that Kawai purposely obstructed Arias and should be awarded home, but umpire Kobayashi retorted that Arias would have been out at home and therefore no extra base should be awarded. Indeed, under Japanese baseball rules, the umpires are given discretion in how they decide if a runner gets to advance in these cases. Hoshino pressed Kobayashi for eight minutes, but it was doing him no good, so he stalked off back to the dugout. Pinch hitter Yoshihiro Okihara struckout for the second out and that brought up Akahoshi, who stroked that forkball off his shoetops and banged it into centerfield to make it 3-2 Hanshin.

Mark Valdez was summoned from the bullpen by Hoshino for the bottom of the ninth and he swept the Giants hitters away in nine pitches for his 20th save.

When Kawai was asked by reporters after the game whether he purposely tripped Arias, he laughed and said, "I'll leave that up to your imaginations."

Godzilla Matsui is in a slump right now, has he is two for his last 17 and hasn't gone deep in six games.

Hanshin's minor league team won its second consecutive title. Count on seeing a lot of those faces with the big club in 2003.

For Hanshin, Arias was 2-4 and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Kawajiri                     IP 6.0 PC 79 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.66
T.H. Hashimoto       IP 0.1 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 19.64
Date (W, 1-2)           IP 1.2 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.11
M. Valdez (S, 20)     IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.72

Yomiuri:

Uehara (L, 16-4) IP 8.2 PC 121 H 11 HR 1 K 6 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.61
Okajima IP 0.1 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.59

E: Nakatani
SB: Akahoshi
2B: Kamisaka
HR: Fujimoto (1), K. Goto (1)
RBI: Akahoshi 2, Fujimoto, K. Goto, Uehara
Catcher's Interference: K. Yamada
GIDP: Takayuki Saito

Season Series: Hanshin 9, Yomiuri 14 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:08
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Tomoyori (HP), Kamimoto (1B), Manabe (2B), T. Kobayashi (3B)

Omichi's Four RBIs Leads 11-4 Daiei Rout of Lotte

Daiei Hawks DH Noriyoshi Omichi lashed a pair of two run doubles and third baseman Hiroki Kokubo crushed a two run homer, his 28th long distance runaround of 2002, as the birds of prey steamrollered the Chiba Lotte Marines Sunday at Fukuoka Dome 11-4. Junji Hoshino cadged his ninth win of the season despite giving up four runs in five innings. Runs support is a good thing, no?

Kosuke Kato started for Lotte and he was stomped for four runs in one inning and then reliever Ken Yamasaki was ambushed for another five in two innings to nudge both of their ERAs over 5.00.

Lotte had an ephemeral lead in the first when centerfielder Saburo Omura walked with one out and DH Frank Bolick singled to right with two outs. Leftfielder Derrick May singled to center to plate Omura and it was 1-0.

The Hawks erased that in short order in the home half, however. Centerfielder Yudai Deguchi and rightfielder Motoi Okoshi walked. The runners moved up on a groundout to first and then with Kokubo at the plate, Kato threw one past catcher Masaumi Shimizu and it was tied at 1-1. Kokubo walked. One out later, Catcher Kenji Johjima singled to center to usher in Okoshi. Omichi then dug in and flayed one down the leftfield line for a double that scored both Kokubo and Johjima to make it 4-1 Daiei.

When the Daiei lineup prepared to come up in the second, Yamasaki was on the hill, but they waited until the third before they teed off on him. With one away, Kokubo whizzed a double into the leftfield corner. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka walked. Johjima singled to left and Kokubo checked in. Omichi unleashed another two bagger into the leftcenter alley and Matsunaka and Johjima crossed for a 7-1 advantage. Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to center to redeem Omichi. Torigoe went to second on a groundout. Deguchi singled to left and Torigoe sped in and it was 9-1 Hawks.

Lotte did Hoshino up for two more runs in the fourth to at least make themselves look respectable. May leadoff with a walk. Second baseman Koichi Hori outran a bouncer toward short. One out later, Shimizu singled to right to pack the sacks. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka struckout. Rightfielder Kenji Morozumi singled to right to drive in both Hori and May and it was 9-3 Hawks.

Daiei reacted with a pair in their ups, as leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled to right and Kokubo applied some thunder to a Junji Kuroki slider and hurtled it into the leftcenterfield bleachers and it was 11-3.

Lotte struck back for a tally in the fifth when first baseman Kazuya Fukuura clubbed a double to rightcenter and, two outs later, Hori singled to center to make it 11-4.

Daiei loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom segment on two walks and a double to rightcenter by Okoshi, but Kuroki struckout Matsunaka to keep it from becoming really humilating for Lotte.

For all practical purposes, the game was over at that point, as neither side put anything together the final three innings and the Hawks cruised to the 11-4 win.

For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with a walk and is at .307.

For Lotte, Bolick was 1-4 and is at .209. May was 1-3 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .263.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

K. Kato (L, 8-13)   IP 1.0 PC 32 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.27
K. Yamasaki          IP 2.0 PC 48 H 6 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 5.00
J. Kuroki                IP 4.0 PC 77 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.26
A. Yoshida           IP 1.0 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.26

Daiei:

J. Hoshino (W, 9-7) IP 5.0 PC 84 H 8 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.67
Shinohara IP 2.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.60
M. Sato IP 2.0 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

2B: Omichi 2, Kokubo, Fukuura, Okoshi, S. Omura
HR: Kokubo (28)
RBI: Morozumi 2, May 2, Deguchi, Kokubo 2, Johjima 2, Omichi 4, Torigoe
HBP: Kokubo (J. Kuroki)
WP: K. Kato
GIDP: T. Tsuji

Season Series: Lotte 10, Daiei 17

Game Time: 3:04
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP), Higashi (1B), Yoshikawa (2B), Tamba (3B)

Yakult Frustrated Again in 3-3 Tie with Yokohama

Yakult Swallows fans can sympathize with the Seattle Mariners, who went to Texas and got swept four straight. Why? Because the Tokyoites played a three game series with the worst team in Japaness pro ball right now, the Yokohama Bay Stars, and came away without a victory, as they lost the first two and emerged with only a tie in the last tilt of the series Sunday at Yokohama Stadium 3-3.

Shugo Fujii started for the Swallows and wasn't able to defend a 3-2 sixth inning lead, as he was responsible for all three Yokohama runs before giving way to his team's relievers.

Yuji Hata, the Stars 2001 number one draft choice, made his first pro start and was adequate, going six innings of three run ball on seven hits, striking out seven and walking two to make it particularly galling for Yakult.

Yakult seized a lead in the first when centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka began the game with a single to center and went to second on a sacrifice. One out later, first baseman Roberto Petagine walked. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left to catapult Manaka home and it was 1-0 Swallows.

Yokohama neutralized that in the third, as third baseman Makoto Fukumoto singled to right with one out and second baseman Hitoshi Taneda walked. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled right and Fukumoto strutted in and it was 1-1.

Petagine, however, leadoff the fourth with a shot into the leftfield bleachers and the Swallows had a 2-1 advantage.

The Stars chased Yakult down again in the bottom of the inning when catcher Ryoji Aikawa singled to left and was sacrificed to second. Shortstop Takuro Ishii then played jai lai with the centerfield wall for an RBI double and it was even at 2-2.

Yakult surged back out in front in the fifth when shortstop Yoshiyuki Noguchi slammed a one out shot off the leftfield wall for a double and went to third on a groundout. Petagine singled to right to get Noguchi in and it was 3-2 Swallows.

Fujii then got two quick outs in the sixth, but couldn't go any further than that before he had to be bailed out. Pinch hitter Masaki Koike singled to left and stole second. Ishii walked. Swallows manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu went to the bullpen for righthander Ryota Igarashi, who was greeted with a double down the rightfield line by pinch hitter Katsuaki Furuki that scored Koike and made it 3-3. Igarashi then struckout Taneda and that was the last offense of the game until a Yakult uprising in the tenth.

With Atsushi Kizuka pitching, Noguchi leadoff with a single to center and, one out later, Petagine singled to left. Ramirez hit a ball close to the line and Noguchi tried to score, but Suzuki made a strong throw and Noguchi was out. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura walked to load the bases. Catcher Atsuya Furuta flied out to center and that was that.

In the bottom of the inning, Yokohama had something going until backup centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo's baserunning mistake killed it. Kinjo singled to center and, one out later, was sacrificed to second. Aikawa legged out a taper toward short. However, Kinjo made too wide a turn and he was tagged out in a rundown.

Yakult had a two on, one out opportunity in the 11th, but Noguchi grounded into a 6-4-3 twin killing and that was it, as nobody else reached base before the game was called.

For Yokohama, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 1-5 with a steal and is at .267. Centerfielder Ernie Young struckout all three times he batted and is at .173.

For Yakult, Petagine was 3-5 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .325. Ramirez was 2-6 with an RBI and is at .298.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

S. Fujii                IP 5.2 PC 113 H 7 HR 0 K 6 BB 4 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.86
R. Igarashi         IP 2.1 PC 47 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.95
H. Ishii               IP 2.0 PC 21 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.63
Kawabata          IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.16
Takatsu             IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.13

Yokohama:

Hata                          IP 6.0 PC 90 H 7 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.86
Morinaka                 IP 2.0 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.59
Kizuka                      IP 1.2 PC 26 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.05
R. Kawahara           IP 0.0 PC   5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.68
Fukumori                 IP 1.1 PC   9 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.19
Takashi Saito          IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93

SB: Koike, Rodrigues
2B: Iwamura, T. Ishii, Y. Noguchi, Furuki
HR: Petagine (38)
RBI: T. Ishii, Furuki, T. Suzuki, Petagine 2, Ramirez
IBB: Manaka
HBP: Noguchi

Season Series: Yakult 15, Yokohama 9 1 Tie

Game Time: 4:33
Attendance: 26,000
Umpires: Shikida (HP), Watada (1B), Suginaga (2B), Tani (3B)

Tanaka Uses Wheels in Tenth Inning and Wins it for Nippon Ham

Nippon Ham Fighters second baseman Ken Tanaka got the drop on Orix Blue Wave first baseman Scott Sheldon, as he never stopped running on an infield hit by shortstop Hiroshi Narahara and scored from second in the top of the tenth to beat the Hyogo Prefecture outfit 3-2 Sunday at Kobe Green Stadium. Tanaka had reached on an infield hit and then stolen second to set up the opportunity to win the match.

Nippon Ham used some muscle in the second to achieve a lead, as third baseman Yukio Tanaka thwacked a pitch from Orix starter Satoshi Tokumoto into the leftfield bleachers to make it 1-0 Fighters.

But Orix used some sock to overcome that in the fourth when centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani walked and Sheldon blasted an offering from Nippon Ham starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi into the leftfield seats and it was suddenly 2-1 home team.

Nippon Ham pulled alongside of Orix, however, in the fifth when catcher Toshihiro Noguchi singled to right and somehow got to third, from where he scored on a sac fly by centerfielder Tatsuya Ide to tie it at 2-2.

Orix loaded the bases on three two out walks in the eighth, but third baseman Tatsuya Shindo fouled out to miss that opportunity.

The game went into the tenth and with two down, Ken Tanaka bounced a ball toward short, but beat the throw to first. He stole second. Narahara then tapped a roller toward third. Shindo, a multiple Gold Glove winner, got to the ball and whipped it to first, where, in a photo finish, the umpire judged Narahara to be safe. Before anyone noticed, Tanaka had rounded third and was making a beeline for the plate, managing to score without a throw while Orix manager Hiromichi Ishige jumped out of the dugout and went after first base umpire Kakigizono. He aired Kakigizono out for about two minutes before heading back to the dugout, his pleas having fallen on deaf ears.

Yoshinori Tateyama, who had entered the game with two outs in the ninth, was now charged with securing a win and he did, working a perfect inning to turn out the lights.

For Orix, Sheldon was 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk and is at .263.

For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 0-4 and is at .260. Leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 1-4 and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

Shimoyanagi            IP 6.0 PC 71 H 5 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 6.40
Iba                             IP 1.0 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.79
Flury                          IP 1.0 PC 31 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.00
A. Shimizu                IP 0.2 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.97
Tateyama (W, 3-2) IP 1.1 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.31

Orix:

Tokumoto                   IP 7.2 PC 118 H 6 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.97
T. Yamamoto              IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.00
Kawagoe (L, 3-12)     IP 1.2 PC   29 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.10
Kase                            IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.71

E: Akune
SB: Ken Tanaka, Tani 2
2B: M. Ogasawara, Hidaka
HR: Y. Tanaka (14), Sheldon (21)
RBI: Narahara, Y. Tanaka, Ide, Sheldon 2
SF: Ide
IBB: Sheldon

Season Series: Nippon Ham 15, Orix 9 2 Ties

Game Time: 3:22
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Shirai (HP), Kakigizono (1B), Hayashi (2B), Tachibana (3B)

Fukudome Slam, Six RBIs Powers Dragons Over Hiroshima 14-3

Chunichi Dragons rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome had a career day Sunday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, as he unloaded his first ever grand slam and drove in six runs in an epic 5-6 night to help his team destroy the Hiroshima Carp 14-3. To add to the fun, he is also now making a run at Hideki Matsui in the CL batting race with a .339 average.

Shigeki Noguchi made his second start of the season for the Dragons and while his breaking pitches still weren't moving as they did last season, when he won the ERA title, he did well enough to win despite being victimized for three solo homers. He was clocked at 87mph, so his velocity isn't back, either.

Yasushi Tsuruta started for Hiroshima and was done up for five runs in 3.2 innings to inflate his ERA to 6.12. Daisuke Sakai then came in for the fourth and had his clock cleaned for eight runs, all earned, on six hits and two walks without getting a single out in a 32 pitch farce.

The Carp actually had a fleeting lead in the second, when third baseman Takahiro Arai conducted a version of the J. Geils Band's "Must of Got Lost" to the folks in the leftfield stands with his bat off of hanging slider to make it 1-0 Hiroshima.

Dragons third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami, though, would overwhelm that with a flick of the stick. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata leadoff with a single to right and second baseman Masahiro Araki xeroxed that. Fukudome carromed a screamer off the leftfield wall to exploit Ibata for the equalizer. Tatsunami then pummeled a curve ball into the rightfield seats to make it 4-1 Chunichi. That was his first hit in his last four games.

In the fourth, Ibata roiled things again when he singled to right with two down and then Araki and Fukudome copycatted him, the latter knock pushing Ibata across, and it was 5-1 Dragons.

Carp reliever Koji Hiroike, who had been drafted to finish the third for Tsuruta, faced centerfielder Takayuki Onishi to commence the fifth and walked him. He was then sent to the showers in favor of Sakai. Oops! Pinch hitter Hidenori Kuramoto walked. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige then bruised a pitch into the leftcenter gap to deliver Onishi. Noguchi singled to center to post Kuramoto and Ibata welcomed Tanishige in with a single to center. Araki walked to pack the sacks. Fukudome got a 2-0 fastball and slugged it into the leftcenterfield bleachers and it was ridiculous now at 12-1. Tatsunami beat out a tapper near the mound. Ancient first baseman Yasuaki Taiho then jacked it out to leftcenter to make it 14-1. Sakai was finally removed and Masato Kawano walked in and nailed Onishi in the back, the two advancing toward each other before Onishi jogged off for first. Kuramoto singled to left. But two strikeouts and a groundout later, this thorough hiding was finally over.

First baseman Kojiro Machida leadoff the Hiroshima half by leaving to leftcenter, too. The fans out in that area then no doubt sent a message to George W. Bush asking about missile defense. The scoreboard quoth, 14-2.

In the sixth, Carp leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto continued, much like Fukudome, to fatten his power numbers with a big surge the last two months, when he sailed one into the rightfield seats to make it 14-3.

Sanity then set in and the Dragons had two hits in the last three innings while the Carp had one, as the game less ended than ground to a halt.

With his three RBIs, Tatsunami now has 80, the first time a Japanese Dragons player has reached that figure since Takeshi Yamasaki in 1998.

Fukudome's spectacular night enabled him to reach new personal bests for homers and RBIs.

No foreign players batted in this game.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

S. Noguchi (W, 1-1) IP 8.0 PC 107 H 4 HR 3 K 5 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 6.00
Yamai IP 1.0 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.83

Hiroshima:

Tsuruta (L, 4-6)     IP 3.2 PC 83 H 8 HR 1 K 2 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 6.12
Hiroike                    IP 0.1 PC 22 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.57
D. Sakai                  IP 0.0 PC 32 H 6 HR 2 K 0 BB 2 R 8 ER 8 ERA 10.80
Kawano                 IP 2.0 PC 34 H 3 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.08
Amano                   IP 2.0 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.86
Tomabechi            IP 1.0 PC   5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.85

E: Ibata, S. Maeda, S. Noguchi
2B: Fukudome, Tanishige
HR: Arai (23), Tatsunami (14), Fukudome (17), Taiho (4), Machida (4), Kanemoto (23)
RBI: Ibata, Fukudome 6, Tatsunami 3, Taiho 2, Tanishige, S. Noguchi, Kanemoto, Arai, Machida
HBP: K. Inoue (Tsuruta), Onishi (Kawano), Kurihara (S. Noguchi)
GIDP: Araki, K. Inoue, T. Maeda, T. Kimura, Higashide

Season Series: Chunichi 13, Hiroshima 14

Game Time: 3:22
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Ino (1B), Watamari (2B), Mori (3B)

Ishii Says He Has No Fear After Accident

See L.A. Times article at: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodrep15sep15.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dsports

Japanese Writer Gets Cy Young, Other Votes

See Seattle Times story at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134536005_horn15a.html

Brito, Ma Homers Pace Samsung Destruction of Hanhwa in KBO Action

See Korea Times article at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002091517444247110.htm

Nakayama Outduels Hurst in Taiwan Action

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/15/story/0000168201

Quotes of the Week

They come from Larry Stone of the Seattle Times in his weekly power rankings:

Yankees: "Wells has to stop ordering the knuckle sandwich."
Seattle: "From refuse to lose to roll over before october."
Cubs: "Anna Kournikova will win a singles title before Cubs win a World Series."

The complete article is at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134535815_power15.html

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 15 and on that day in Japanese baseball history in 1958, Asahi Beer sold the first beer in a can in Japanese history. They were then sold at games at Korakuen Stadium, but due to the fact that the became missiles in the hands of unruly fans, the cans were supplanted by paper cups later on.

September 14, 2002

Kawanaka Sayonara Homer Locks Up Pennant for Yomiuri

Yomiuri Giants infielder Mototsugu Kawanaka, even if his career ends tomorrow, has done something he'll be able to tell his grandchildren and anyone else who will listen about for decades to come Saturday when he came up to pinch hit for third baseman Daisuke Motoki in the bottom of the 11th at Tokyo Dome against Hanshin Tigers reliever Shinji Taninaka and blasted a shot into the rightfield seats for not only his first career homer, but to end the game. Understandbly, he jumped up in the air several times as he headed off to first base while the ball nestled into the sold out crowd for the 5-4 final. The Giants magic number to clinch the Central League flag is now just 11, but for all practical purposes it is really less than half of that since the Yakult Swallows would have to pull off an ungodly winning streak to overtake their crosstown rivals.

Kimiyasu Kudoh started for the home team and threw another fine seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits to leave with a 4-3 lead, which was the blown by the erratic Hideki Okajima and thsu went into extra innings while the great veteran's effort went unrewarded.

For Hanshin, Trey Moore started on the hill and didn't fare very well, giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits and is fortunate he wasn't saddled with his 12th loss.

Moore had most of his problems in the first, when he got knocked around for three runs. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu leadoff by whistling a double down the rightfield line and shortstop Tomohiro Nioka walked. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe attempted to sacrifice. He got the ball down and Hanshin receiver Katsuhiko Yamada grabbed it and then fumbled it to load the bases. Centerfielder Hideki Matsui then collected his first RBIs in five games when he yanked a ball down the rightfield line for a two run double. One out later, Motoki grounded to short and the only play was to first to make it 3-0 Yomiuri.

In the fourth, second baseman Toshihisa Nishi belted one into the leftcenterfield seats for his fifth homer and his first longball in 11 games and it was 4-0 Giants.

Kudoh wasn't giving Hanshin any openings at all until the sixth, when third baseman Atsushi Kataoka clocked a one out single to right and rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama waylaid one of Kudoh's deliveries into the rightcenterfield stands to bring his nine within 4-2.

It became a one run affair in the seventh, as leftfielder Taichiro Kamisaka commenced it with a double into the leftfield corner and then was sacrificed to third. Katsumi Hirosawa lifted a fly ball to right and Kamisaka tagged and hustled in to reduce the Giants lead to 4-3.

Okajima came on for the eighth and, with one down, Kataoka got real gone to right to knot it at 4-4.

The game got pretty sedate until the top of the 11th, when Kamisaka socked his second double, this one down the rightfield line, with two outs. However, Yamada struckout and that opportunity went down the drain.

Kawanaka was dispatched to the plate to begin the home segment and Taninaka threw him a 1-0 slider, which he hung, and that was the ballgame.

To accompany his RBIs, Matsui also walked in the third, his 100th of 2002, the third consecutive campaign in which he's transgressed the century mark in that department.

Yomiuri Giants righthander Kazuya Tabata, who has pitched in the minors all season, has decided to call it a day after coming down with a shoulder problem. The 5'10" 175 pounder first came up with the Daiei Hawks in 1993 and was used sparingly before moving to Yakult in 1996, where he went into the rotation and posted a 12-12 record with a 3.51 ERA. The following season was his career year, as he won 15 and lost only five with a 2.96 ERA. However, injuries began to dog him and the Swallows let him go to Kintetsu in 2000 before he got into 29 games with the Giants in 2001. He is 33.

Outfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi homered in a minor league rehab start, his first ever appearance at the lower level, and has appealed to Giants management to be moved up to the big club as soon as possible.

The Tigers have indicated that they are courting Tokiwa University fireballer Tomoyuki Kubota, who can fire it up to the plate at 95mph using a Nomo-like windup. Kubota hasn't really indicated who he would like to be selected by in Japan's peculiar draft system.

For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 1-5 with three strikeouts and is at .251. The ex-Angel is well over 100 whiffs on the season and is coming up empty just a little more than once every four plate appearances. Moore was 1-2 and is at .274.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Moore                     IP 5.0 PC 87 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 4 R 4 ER 3 ERA 3.35
Date                         IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.22
Yoshino                  IP 1.0 PC 20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.95
Hansell                    IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93
Taninaka (L, 5-7)   IP 2.0 PC 33 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.43

Yomiuri:

Kudo                          IP 7.0 PC 115 H 6 HR 1 K 8 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.84
Okajima                     IP 1.0 PC    17 H 1 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.61
Almonte                    IP 1.0 PC    17 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.77
Y. Maeda (W, 3-3)   IP 2.0 PC    29 H 2 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.49

E: K. Yamada
SB: Etoh
2B: T. Shimizu, H. Matsui, Arias, Kamisaka 2
HR: Nishi (5), Hiyama (12), Kataoka (10), Kawanaka (1)
RBI: Kataoka, Hiyama 2, Hirosawa, H. Matsui 2, Motoki, Kawanaka, Nishi
SF: Hirosawa
HBP: Yoshinaga (Taninaka)
GIDP: H. Matsui

Season Series: Hanshin 8, Yomiuri 14 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:55
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Sasaki (HP), Manabe (1B), Kamimoto (2B), Tomoyori (3B)

Yoshimi Ends Yakult Season with Six Hitter

In a confrontation between two Rookie of the Year candidates, Yokohama Bay Stars southpaw Yuji Yoshimi flummoxed Masanori Ishikawa and the Yakult Swallows on six hits and a run Saturday at Yokohama Stadium to all but cashier the birds' pennant chances 3-1. Ishikawa went six innings and was touched for three runs, two earned, on seven hits in six innings that just wasn't going to be good enough to win this one.

In the second, Yakult third baseman Akinori Iwamura tripled into the rightcenter gap with one down, but catcher Atsuya Furuta grounded to third and Noriyuki Shiroishi fanned and the Swallows passed up a shot at drawing first blood.

It remained scoreless until the sixth, when Yoshimi took things into his own hands and ignited a rally with a single to center and went to second on a sac bunt. Hitoshi Nakane doubled to left center to redeem him. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda singled to left and somehow made it to second before leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to right to send both runners in for the 3-0 Stars lead.

In the top of the seventh, Furuta went midieval on a Yoshimi offering and landed it in the leftfield bleachers to make it 3-1. That was the last hit that Yakult had, as Yoshimi put down the next eight in a row to pocket the W. This is also the first time a Yokohama pitcher has had back to back complete games with no walks since 1987, when Kazuhiko Endo, who went 14-7 with a 2.88 ERA that season, did it. Endo is now a pitching coach with the Stars.

One interesting stat about Yoshimi is that his fellow members of the Stars pitching staff have handed out a CL worst 39 intentional walks, but none of those have been by him.

Yokohama ace Daisuke Miura tossed six perfect innings in the minors rehabbing a his elbow.

For Yakult, first baseman Roberto Petagine was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .322. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-4 with two strikeouts and an error and is at .297.

For Yokohama, centerfielder Ernie Young was 0-1 with two walks and is at .178. Rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 2-4 and is at .268.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Masanori Ishikiwa (L, 9-8)IP 6.0 PC 92 H 7 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 3 ER 2 ERA 3.29
Kawabata IP 0.2 PC 18 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.21
H. Ishii IP 1.1 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.67

Yokohama:

Yoshimi (W, 9-6) IP 9.0 PC 127 H 6 HR 1 K 11 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.41

E: Ramirez
2B: Rodrigues 2, Nakane, T. Ishii
3B: Iwamura
HR: Furuta (8)
RBI: Furuta, Nakane, T. Suzuki 2
GIDP: T. Nakamura

Season Series: Yakult 15, Yokohama 9

Game Time: 2:52
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Kittaka (HP), Suginaga (1B), Tani (2B), Shikida (3B)

Nakamura Three Run Homer, Takamura Pitching Slows Seibu 4-0

Kintetsu Buffaloes starter Hiroshi Takamura wove 7.2 shutout innings on six hits in a gutty 143 pitch performance and third baseman Norihiro Nakamura returned to the starting lineup after leaving yesterday's game with a bad wrist and put a whipping on a fastball for a three run homer in the third, as the Buffs put a temporary stop to the Seibu Lions inexorable march to the Pacific League title Saturday at Osaka Dome.

Hsu Ming-chieh started for the Tokorozawa contingent and was tattooed for all four Kintetsu tallies in three innings for his sixth defeat. He is 1-3 with a 9.31 ERA against the Buffs this season.

Seibu shortstop Kazuo Matsui leadoff the game by searing the ball over the head of Kintetsu centerfielder Naoyuki Omura and to the wall for a triple. However, they couldn't get him home and the Lions wouldn't even garner a hit off of Takamura again until the fifth.

Kintetsu blew a bases loaded, two out opportunity in their half of the first and then saw Tatdatoki Maeda stranded at third after tripling to rightcenter with one out in the second.

But they didn't misfire in the third, as second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi leadoff with a single to center and leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes singled to right. Nakamura then got a heater on the outer half of the plate and went with it, lashing it into the rightfield seats for a 3-0 Buffs advantage. He now has 34 homers on the year. One out later, first baseman Yuji Yoshioka, who has been hitting with some real authority the last several weeks, then flambed one into the leftfield bleachers and it was 4-0 Buffs.

Seibu packed the basepaths on two walks and a single with two outs in the sixth, but Kazuhiro Wada flew out to center and Takamura's shutout was still intact.

The then loaded them again in the seventh with two outs on three singles and Ozeki struckout to let that opportunity slip away.

Takamura walked two in the eighth, so Kintetsu boss Masataka Nashida went to the pen for Akira Okamoto, who got third baseman Scott McClain to pop to short and that was the Lions last hurrah, as Akinori Otsuka entered in the ninth and blew away the first two men he saw and then popped Matsui up in a ten pitch masterpiece to put it in the books.

Kintetsu has signed an agreement with the Shanghai Golden Eagles in the infant Chinese pro baseball league "to promote cultural and sports exchanges."

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-4 and is at .265.

For Seibu, first baseman Alex Cabrera was 0-2 with two walks. He has reportedly already agreed to return to Saitama next season for more than $2 million plus incentives. McClain was 1-4 and is at .264.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Hsu (L, 8-6)    IP 3.0 PC 78 H 7 HR 2 K 4 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.57
Uchizono       IP 3.0 PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
Hoashi           IP 2.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.43

Kintetsu:

Takamura (W, 8-7) IP 7.2 PC 143 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 5 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.04
A. Okamoto IP 0.1 PC 1 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.79
A.N. Otsuka IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.39

2B: T.T. Maeda
3B: K. Matsui, T.T. Maeda
HR: Nakamura (34), Yoshioka (24)
RBI: Nakamura 3, Yoshioka
GIDP: Kawaguchi

Season Series: Seibu 14, Kintetsu 12

Game Time: 3:08
Attendance: 23,000
Umpires: Nakamura (HP), Nagami (1B), Yamamura (2B), Kawaguchi (3B)

Minchey, Bolick Hamper Daiei 3-2

Two fourth inning walks plus a pair of doubles were all the Chiba Lotte Marines needed, as they used that formula for three runs and then left it up to Nate Minchey and three relievers to shoot the Daiei Hawks down Saturday at Fukuoka Dome 3-2. The 6'7" righty went 7.1 innings of two run ball on nine hits for his 12th win.

Kazumi Saito had another very good outing for Daiei, twirling eight innings of three run ball for his first defeat of the year.

Neither side had anything resembling a major threat until the top of the fourth, when Lotte went on a short home invasion spree. Rightfielder Kenji Morozumi leadoff with a walk and centerfielder Saburo Omura also waited out a "four ball." Both men advanced on a groundout to first. DH Frank Bolick then smacked a double down the rightfield line to plate two and leftfielder Derrick May then looped one near the leftfield line for a two bagger to recall Bolick and it was 3-0 Lotte. You can see a pic of Bolick's swing on his clutch knock at:
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/09/15/20020915012338.jpg

Lotte then frittered away a one out, man on third situation in the fifth.

Daiei, however, had men on first and third with nobody out in the sixth, but that was followed by a foul out and rightfielder Yudai Deguchi bounced into a 5-4-3 double play to pull the curtain down on that scenario.

The Hawks finally dented Minchey in the eighth, as shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled with one away and pinch hitter Kazuyuki Takahashi singled to right. Pinch hitter Koji Bonishi then lined one down the third base line to drive in Torigoe. Lotte manager Koji Yamamoto resorted to the bullpen and Soichi Fujita was handed the ball. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez flied out to left and Takahashi crossed to make it 3-2. But Brian Sikorsky and Masahide Kobayashi blanketed the last four Hawks hitters and that was that.

In an utterly shocking development, Daiei released starter Brady Raggio and closer Rodney Pedraza for what appears to be monetary reasons. Pedraza is popular with his teammates and a four time all star, so his being dropped is particularly surprising to the Hawks players. He had 21 saves while being hindered by hamstring problems and has vowed to return to Japan with someone next season. There shouldn't be any shortage of takers there.

Raggio, a former Cardinal, went 23-17 in three seasons. He was still on an eight game suspension for bumping an umpire when he got the axe. In 2002, he was 6-5 with a 5.44 ERA. His career is likely over unless he goes to Korea or Taiwan.

According to the Japan Times, Daiei had wanted to post second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to bolster the club's bottom line. Iguchi reportedly angrily told them where they could file that idea, as he is said to have no ambitions of going to MLB. The Hawks are on pace to draw more than 3 million fans again, so this may be symptomatic more of problems with the parent company, the floundering Daiei department store and supermarket chain

For Lotte, Bolick was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .208. May was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .263.

For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with an RBI and is at .306.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

Minchey (W, 12-13)     IP 7.1 PC 122 H 9 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.98
S. Fujita                          IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.72
Sikorsky                         IP 0.1 PC     2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.90
M. Kobayashi (S, 29)   IP 1.0 PC     7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.03

Daiei:

K. Saito (L, 3-1) IP 8.0 PC 120 H 3 HR 0 K 6 BB 5 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.20
S. Yoshida IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.97

E: Hori
2B: Bolick, May, Masaumi Shimizu, M. Kawasaki, Bonishi
RBI: Bolick 2, May, Bonishi, P. Valdez
SF: P. Valdez
GIDP: Kokubo, Deguchi, Johjima

Season Series: Lotte 10, Daiei 16

Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 46,000
Umpires: Maeda (HP), Tamba (1B), Higashi (2B), Iizuka (3B)

Tanaka Seven Hits Nippon Ham 4-1

Taking advantage of every opportunity presented to them in the first four innings, the Orix Blue Wave scored a run in each of them to back an outstanding outing from Yuki Tanaka, who was bestowed with his fourth shiroboshi after going 8.1 innings of one run ball on seven hits.

Taking the brunt of Orix' opportunism as well as being hurt by a bad play in the outfield was Fighters starter Chris Seelbach, who leveled his record at 7-7 after sticking it our for just 3.1 innings and permitting four runs, two earned, on five hits and four walks before Fighters headman Yasunori Oshima tapped Pat Flury, who fanned four of the five men he faced in a perfect 1.2 innings.

Tanaka got himself in a jam in the first, when second baseman Hiroshi Narahara singled to center with one out and, one out later, DH Sherman Obando and third baseman Yukio Tanaka both walked to load the bases. But leftfielder D.T. Cromer struckout and Nippon Ham wasn't heard from again until the fourth.

Meanwhile, Orix went ahead in the same inning when second baseman Koichi Oshima walked to lead it off and went to second on a groundout. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani doubled into the leftfield corner to push Oshima in and make it 1-0.

In the second, Orix rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi walked with one out and two batters later, third baseman Tatsuya Shindo cracked a single to right, where it got through rightfielder Katsuhiro Nishiura, and Katsuragi set the controls for the heart of the plate to make it 2-0.

Seelbach created his own problems in the third, as Tani singled to center with one gone and moved into scoring position thanks to a walk to first baseman Scott Sheldon. One out later, leftfielder Manabu Satake guided one back up through the middle for an RBI single and it was now 3-0 Orix.

Nippon Ham got back on the basepaths in the fourth when both Obando and Yukio Tanaka singled to left, but the next two hitters struckout and centerfielder Tatsuya Ide fouled out to quash that threat.

As punishment for his misplay, Nishiura was pulled from the game and Yoshinori Ueda was put in his place. And that move lead to a fourth Orix run in the bottom of the fourth. With one away, Shindo walked. Oshima lofted a routine fly ball to right and Yoshinori Ueda geeked it, the fleet footed Shindo sprinting around the basepaths as the ball skipped away to make it 4-0 Orix. That's when Oshima went to the bullpen for Flury.

In the eighth, Nippon Ham used an infield hit from pinch hitter Ken Tanaka, a one out walk to first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and a two out walk to Yukio Tanaka to crowd the basepaths again, but Cromer flew out to center and Tanaka's shutout was still an ongoing proposition.

Yuki Tanaka came out for the ninth and pinch hitter Nobuaki Arai singled to right and went to second on a groundout. Pinch hitter Takaya Hayashi beat out a roller toward short. Jun Hagiwara loped in to try his luck. Ken Tanaka popped out to short. Narahara singled to right and Arai toed the dish to make it 4-1. Ogasawara walked. Now Obando was up representing the tying run, but he whiffed and Orix had a victory in the bank.

For Orix, Sheldon was 1-2 with two walks and is at .261.

For Nippon Ham, Obando was 1-4 with a walk and is at .263. Cromer was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

Seelbach (L, 7-7) IP 3.1 PC 76 H 5 HR 0 K 3 BB 4 R 4 ER 2 ERA 3.77
Flury                      IP 1.2 PC 23 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50
A. Shimizu            IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.05
Iba                         IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.89
Sakurai                 IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80

Orix:

Yuki Tanaka (W, 4-1) IP 8.1 PC 137 H 7 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.72
J. Hagiwara (S, 8) IP 0.2 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.72

E: Nishiura, Y. Ueda
SB: Tani
2B: Tani
RBI: Narahara, Tani, Satake
GIDP: Goshima, Hidaka

Season Series: Nippon Ham 14, Orix 9 2 Ties

Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Tachibana (1B), Kakigizono (2B), Shirai (3B)

Kazuyoshi Kimura Two Run Homer in Eighth a Winner for Hiroshima

A two run homer in the bottom of the eighth by catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura broke at 4-4 tie and enabled the Hiroshima Carp to ultimately win it 6-5 against the Chunichi Dragons Saturday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium. Masayuki Hasegawa started for the fish and went all the way in spite of giving up five runs, all earned, on nine hits due to an inability to keep his breaking pitches down consistently for his 12th victory.

Masahiro Yamamoto started for the Dragons and reverted to his early season form, as he was in for six innings and saw four opposition runners cross the plate on 11 hits.

The Carp began on top in the bottom of the first when shortstop Akihiro Higashide and centerfielder Koichi Ogata both doubled to rightcenter with one out for a 1-0 lead. They then added on in the third, as third baseman Takahiro Arai got aboard on an error by shortstop Hirokazu Ibata and, one out later, Kazuyoshi Kimura singled to left. Hasegawa also singled to left and the bases were packed. Second baseman Takuya Kimura lined a double to leftcenter and Arai and Kimura wheeled on in to make it 3-0 Carp.

The Dragons counterattacked in the third to even it when catcher Fumihiro Suzuki walked and was sacrificed to second. Ibata singled to right. Second baseman Masahiro Araki singled to center and plated Suzuki. Rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome grounded to Kojiro Machida at first, who threw to third for the force out. Third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami grounded to Takuya Kimura at second, who let the ball get by him, and Araki and Fukudome both came around to restore equilibrium at 3-3.

But Hiroshima grabbed another lead in the seventh, when Arai snapped off a drive to the leftfield wall for a one out double and Machida walked. One out later, Hasegawa singled to right and Arai made the left turn for home for a 4-3 Carp advantage.

Hasegawa wouldn't hold that, however, as with two outs, Araki singled to right and Fukudome rocketed a shot to the leftcenterfield wall for an RBI double and it was 4-4.

In the eighth, backup first baseman Itsuki Asai walked with one down and Kimura fileted a pitch from reliever Masataka Endo and fed it to the folks into the leftfield bleachers to pull the Carp ahead 6-4.

Chunichi came up for their last at bat in the ninth and pinch hitter Junichi Jinno clobbered a ball into the rightcenter alley to open the inning and eventually came around on two groundouts to close it to 6-5. Araki, though, grounded to second and it was "game setto." The Dragons have now lost three in a row.

No foreign players batted in this game.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

M. Yamamoto         IP 6.0 PC 121 H 11 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.19
Iwase                       IP 1.0 PC   17 H   0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.05
Endo (L, 4-2 )         IP 1.0 PC    26 H   1 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.54

Hiroshima:

Hasegawa (W, 12-6) IP 9.0 PC 133 H 9 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.56

E: Ibata, T. Kimura
SB: Higashide
2B: Higashide, Ogata, T. Kimura, Kanemoto, Arai, Fukudome, Jinno
HR: K. Kimura (5)
RBI: Ibata, Araki, Fukudome, T. Kimura 2, Ogata, K. Kimura 2, Hasegawa
HBP: Onishi (Hasegawa), Higashide (Iwase)
GIDP: Ogata

Season Series: Chunichi 12, Hiroshima 14

Game Time: 3:30
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Nishimoto (HP), Watamari (1B), Mori (2B), Kasahara (3B)

Wada Strikes Out 16 Against Tokyo University in Fall Opener

Waseda University southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada, who is most likely headed for the Daiei Hawks in this November's draft and has drawn interest from the Dodgers, needs to fan only 28 more to eclipse Yutaka Enatsu's Tokyo Big Six University League record of 443 whiffs after blowing away 16 more in a faceoff with Tokyo University Saturday in the fall season opener.

Wada, 21, who was clocked at a high of 88mph but complemented that with sharp breaking balls, ended up with a 138 pitch complete game three hit shutout fafter no hitting Todai for the first seven innings to earn his 23rd win at one of Japan's elite private schools. He had at least one strikeout in every frame. The final was 16-0.

In other University action, another highly touted hurler, Nagisa Arakaki, who was clocked at 94mph as a high schooler and is also likely headed to Fukuoka for his pro career, got into a game for Kyushu Community College against Kyushu Industrial College earlier today and struckout ten, nine of those in a row, in a five inning stint. He was clocked consistently at 92mph during his dominating outing.

Kaohsiung Does in Taichung 7-2 in Taiwan Pro Action

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/14/story/0000168065

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 14th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1949, the Kintetsu Pearls (now known as the Buffaloes) baseball club was established.

Also on that date in 1977, a record was established when five Yakult Swallows hitters homered in one inning in a game against the Taiyo Whales at Kawasaki Stadium.

September 13, 2002

Cabrera 51st Homer, Four RBIs Downs Kintetsu 7-3

Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera belted a two run homer in the top of the ninth to piggyback on a similar shot with a man on by teammate Kazuo Matsui to pull away from the Kintetsu Buffaloes Friday at Osaka Dome. Cabrera drove in a total of four runs to back an outstanding four hit seven inning effort by starter Mitsutaka Goto, who picked up his seventh win.

Hisashi Iwakuma started for Kintetsu and had held the Lions to three runs on eight hits in eight innings before nailing catcher Tsutomu Itoh with a pitch to open the ninth and he was pulled by manager Masataka Nashida. However, Seibu then went bombs away on two relievers and the two runs the Buffs posted in the bottom of the ninth proved to be too little, too late.

The Lions seized a first inning advantage when Masahide Kaizuka ripped a two out double into the leftcenter alley and galloped home on a subsequent single to left on a slider on the outer half of the plate by Cabrera to make it 1-0.

Kintetsu compensated for that with a tally of their own in the fourth, as shortstop Masahiro Abe singled to center with one down and was forced at second when DH Kenshi Kawaguchi rolled to Cabrera, who winged it over to Matsui. First baseman Yuji Yoshioka walked. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to right and Kawaguchi hustled in to knot it at 1-1.

Cabrera then came back in the fifth to put the Lions ahead once again. Rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to center, Kaizuka singled to left and Cabrera lined a slider up and away to the wall in right for a double to usher Ozeki in and give his side a 2-1 lead.

In the eighth, Ozeki began another rally when he leadoff with a single to center and was sacrificed to second. Nashida ordered Cabrera intentionally walked (and who could blame him?), though this engendered a lot of booing from the Buffs home fans as well as Cabrera, who gave Nashida a piece of his mind as he trotted off to first. Kazuhiro Wada then finagled a freebie from Iwakuma to load them up and centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji flew out to right deep enough to permit Ozeki to tag and score and widen the Lions hegemony to 3-1.

Seibu then flexed its muscles in the ninth to put it in the refrigerator. Itoh was nailed and Iwakuma was yanked in favor of Toyohiko Yoshida, who induced a flyout from second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi. Matsui was next and he went gorilla on a Yoshida offering and buried it in the leftfield seats to make it 5-1. Ozeki singled to right and Yoshida was relieved by Katsunari Yoshikawa, who, after Ozeki was thrown out trying
to steal, lured Hiroyuki Oshima into hitting a routine fly ball to Tuffy Rhodes in left. Unfortunately, Rhodes somehow dropped it to keep the inning alive. Cabrera then got a 1-1 forkball down but in the middle of the plate and he torqued it on a low line into the leftfield seats and the Lions were really in control at 7-1. Seibu the loaded the bases on two walks and a single, but Shogo Akada flew out to end the uprising.

Koji Mitsui came on for Seibu in the ninth and he was promptly taken over the leftfield wall by pinch hitter Akihito Moritani. Yoshioka singled to left. Omura then creamed a double off the centerfield fence and Yoshioka managed to chug all the way around to bring Kintetsu within 7-3. Mitsui, however, shut it down from there, retiring the next three hitters to preseve the victory.

Kintetsu slugging third baseman Norihiro Nakamura aggravated a wrist injury striking out in the second and was taken out before the fourth inning began.

For Seibu,Cabrera was 3-4 with four RBIs and is at .335, to emerge on top of all three Triple Crown categories in the Pacific League. The longball was his 100th in 247 games, the second fastest pace in Japanese history to ex-Kintetsu outfielder Ralph Bryant. However, Cabrera is the first ever to attain that figure in just two seasons. Third baseman Scott McClain was 2-3 and is at .265.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-4 with two strikeouts and an error and is at .265. The Buffs front office announced that the former Cub will return to the team next season for $3 million plus another $500,000 in incentives.

In another announcement by the same ballclub, they are contemplating tearing down their former home, Fujiidera Stadium, which is used these days by their minor league affiliate.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

M. Goto (W, 7-1) IP 7.0 PC 113 H 4 HR 0 K 8 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.66
S. Mori IP 1.0 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.17
Mitsui IP 1.0 PC 20 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.03

Kintetsu:

Iwakuma (L, 7-5) IP 8.0 PC 129 H 8 HR 0 K 3 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.41
T. Yoshida IP 0.1 PC 9 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.55
Yoshikawa IP 0.2 PC 30 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 2 R 2 ER 0 ERA 16.20

E: Rhodes
2B: Kaizuka, Cabrera, N. Omura 2
HR: K. Matsui (29), Cabrera (51), Moritani (1)
RBI: K. Matsui 2, Cabrera 4, Miyaji, Moritani, N. Omura 2
SF: Miyaji
IBB: Cabrera
HBP: T. Itoh (Iwakuma)

Season Series: Seibu 14, Kintetsu 11

Game Time: 3:40
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Nagami (2B), Nakamura (3B)

Five Giants Homers Kill Tigers 10-3

The Yomiuri Giants were down 3-1 after two innings, but then accumulated another nine runs in the next five innings to annihilate the Hanshin Tigers Friday at Tokyo Dome 10-3. Keiichi Yabu started for the losers in his first outing since suffering a rib sprain and was understandably not very sharp, as he was wasted for six runs on seven hits, four of those leaving the yard, in four innings to drop his record to 8-5.

Hisanori Takahashi started for Yomiuri and matched a career high with his ninth win, going eight innings of three run ball on seven hits to scoop up the shiroboshi.

Hanshin had a lead after just two men had been to the dish, as shortstop Yoshihiro Okihara went into the third deck in left on a Takahashi delivery to make it 1-0 Tigers.

In the second, Hanshin second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto walked with one down and leftfielder Taichiro Kamisaka connected on a hanging slider and wacked it into the leftcenterfield seats for a 3-0 Tigers lead.

Yomiuri first baseman Akira Etoh answered when he drove a Yabu pitch into the first row of the leftfield bleachers and it was 3-1 Tigers.

Yabu plunked Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe to inaugurate the third and, two outs later, Etoh really mashed a hanging forkball, propelling it into the second deck in left to deadlock it at 3-3.

Yabu got the first two outs of the fourth and then couldn't close the deal until he got hurt. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu then tied his 1998 lifetime high in homers when he exited to dead center. Shortsop Tomohiro Nioka singled to right. Abe mortared one into the rightfield seats and Yomiuri was up 6-3.

In the fifth, Hanshin used an error to throw a deuce on the big board. With one down, Etoh squirted a fairly grounder to Atsushi Kataoka at third, who let it go through the wickets. Third baseman Kawanaka singled to center. Second baseman Toshihisa Nishi walked to load the bases. Takahashi grounded to Okihara, who flipped to home for the force. Shimizu singled to center and Kawanaka and Nishi scampered in to make it 8-3 Giants.

An inning later, Nioka leadoff with a single to center and, one out later, centerfielder Hideki Matsui walked. Pinch hitter Daisuke Motoki singled to left and Nioka beat it for home and the Giants were looking down on Hanshin 9-3.

Nioka then accounted for the final run of the match when he blasted his 22nd circuit clout to center in the seventh to make it 10-3. Hanshin managed just an infield hit over the final three frames in going quietly from there.

Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino benched Kataoka, whose season has been at least as big disaster as Jeff Cirillo's has been in Seattle, soon after his miscue and the quick tempered former Dragons manager is out of patience with the free agent signing's failure to produce.

The defeat at the hands of the Giants assures that Yomiuri has won the season series for the 17th straight year. The Tigers are also a season worst six games under .500.

For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 1-3 with a walk and is at .251.

Also, see story on this game by Jim Allen of the Yomiuri Shimbun at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020914wo51.htm

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Yabu (L, 8-5)               IP 4.0 PC 87 H 7 HR 4 K 2 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.17
Date                             IP 0.1 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 0 ERA 3.30
T.H. Hashimoto         IP 1.0 PC 24 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 21.60
Hansell                        IP 0.2 PC 14 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Kanazawa                   IP 2.0 PC 42 H 1 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.12

Yomiuri:

H. Takahashi (W, 9-3) IP 8.0 PC 133 H 7 HR 2 K 9 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.12
Almonte IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.86

E: Kataoka, Etoh
2B: K. Yamada, Sekimoto
HR: Okihara (2), Kamisaka (1), Etoh 2 (18), T. Shimizu (13), S. Abe (16), Nioka (22)
RBI: Okihara, Kamisaka 2, T. Shimizu 3, Nioka, S. Abe 2, Motoki, Etoh 3
HBP: S. Abe (Yabu), Kawanaka (Kanazawa)
GIDP: Sekimoto

Season Series: Hanshin 8, Yomiuri 13 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:30
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), Sasaki (1B), Tomoyori (2B), Kamimoto (3B)

Yakult Comeback Bid May be Over After 8-4 Defeat to Yokohama

With a costly 8-4 defeat by the Yokohama Bay Stars Friday at Yokohama Stadium, the Yakult Swallows will now have to hope for a miracle in order to catch the frontrunning Giants. Despite the fact that after a couple of good initial starts, Futoshi Yamabe has stunk it up, Swallows manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu ran Yamabe out there again and he was lit up by the second worst offense in all of Japanese pro ball for four runs in 1.2 innings on six hits.

Kuniyuki Taniguchi started for Yokohama and earned his first win 2002 with seven innings of two run ball.

Yakult had the upper hand for, oh about ten minutes when they combined a leadoff single to left by centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka, a sac bunt, an HBP to rightfielder Atsunori Inaba, a walk to first baseman Roberto Petagine to load the bases, and a groundout from leftfielder Alex Ramirez for a 1-0 first inning lead.

Yokohama quickly overturned that, though, as shortstop Takuro Ishii kicked off the home half with a single and was sacrificed to second. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda then hit a Yamabe delivery right on the screws, depositing it in the leftfield seats to make it 2-1 Stars.

The Stars added to that in the second when first baseman Hirofumi Ogawa leadoff with a single to left and one out later catcher Ryoji Aikawa singled to center. Both men were sacrificed along. Yamabe hit Ishii with a pitch to juice the bags. Third baseman Makoto Fukumoto singled to right and both Ogawa and Aikawa skated across for a 4-1 Yokohama edge.

Inaba shrunk that deficit somewhat in the third when he cleaned and jerked a ball over the centerfield wall with two away to make it 4-2 Yokohama.

Stars rightfielder Boi Rodrigues, though, imitated that when he dialed Ibaraki 6-5000 to dead center with two outs so that Yokohama could go back up by three at 5-2.

In the fourth, Yokohama scored again when Ishii beat out a roller toward second with one gone, Fukumoto singled to left to send Ishii to third and Taneda grounded to third to get Ishii, who was running on contact, home and make it 6-2.

And Yokohama continued to slowly dismantle the Swallows, as in the fifth, Ogawa singled to right and went to second on a groundout. Aikawa singled to left and Ogawa made the turn for home. Ramirez' peg was right on the nose, though, and Ogawa was out. That brought up Taniguchi, who also singled to left, and Aikawa crossed to enhance his team's lead to 7-2. Ramirez then threw another man out at the plate later in the inning to become the fourth outfielder in Japanese history to get two assists in a single stanza.

The Stars then struck for another in the sixth, as Fukumoto singled to left with one out and went to second on a groundout. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to center to deliver Fukumoto and it was 8-2 Yokohama.

Hideki Chiba came on to pitch the ninth for Yokohama and he walked Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta. Backup shortstop Yoshiyuki Noguchi then dug in for his first pro at bat and homered to left to reduce the gap between the two squads to 8-4. Chiba, though, kept the next four batters on the infield (one of those was an infield hit) to seal it.

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 1-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .266. Centerfielder Ernie Young was 0-3 and is at .179.

For Yakult, Petagine was 0-3 with a walk and is at .322. Ramirez was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .300.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Yamabe (L, 4-3)     IP 1.2 PC 36 H 6 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 6.06
Hanada                  IP 2.1 PC 46 H 4 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.40
H. Maeda              IP 2.0 PC 29 H 5 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.40
Newman                IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.72
S. Matsuda           IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.64

Yokohama:

Taniguchi (W, 1-4)    IP 7.0 PC 108 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.23
R. Kawahara               IP 1.0 PC   15 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.68
Chiba                           IP 1.0 PC   23 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 9.00

HR: Taneda (5), Inaba (6), Rodrigues (16), Y. Noguchi (1)
RBI: Inaba, Ramirez, Y. Noguchi 2, Fukumoto 2, Taneda 3, T. Suzuki, Rodrigues,
Taniguchi
HBP: Inaba (Taniguchi), T. Ishii (Yamabe)
GIDP: Young, Manaka

Season Series: Yakult 15, Yokohama 8

Game Time: 3:05
Attendance: 13,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Tani (1B), Shikida (2B), Kittaka (3B)

Ninth Inning Two Run Ide Homer Spells Victory for Fighters 3-2

A two run homer in the top of the ninth by Nippon Ham centerfielder Tatsuya Ide off of Orix reliever Jun Higawara turned a 2-1 Blue Wave lead into a 3-2 defeat. Nippon Ham reliever Akio Shimizu was credited with his second victory while Hagiwara accepted his fourth loss.

Tomonori Kitagawa started for Orix for the first time this season and was brilliant, stifling the Fighters on four hits over the course of 7.2 innings of one run ball while striking out four and walking one to be denied his first pro win.

Hayato Nakamura opened on the hill for Nippon Ham and he permitted a dozen baserunners, but due to Orix' wan offense, he was penalized for just a pair of runs in his seven innings. All the safeties he coughed up were singles.

Orix got the jump on Nippon Ham in the first when second baseman Koichi Oshima walked and went to third on a single to right by shortstop Makoto Shiozaki. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Oshima scored and it was 1-0 in the Kobe crew's favor.

Nippon Ham squandered a men on second and third and one out opportunity in the second and then were dominated from that point forward, their lone tally coming on a big fly by DH Sherman Obando to straightaway center in the third that tied it at 1-1.

Orix surged in front again in the sixth when Nakamura walked both Tani and DH Scott Sheldon and first baseman Yuji Goshima singled to right to dispatch the speedy Tani plateward to make it 2-1 Blue Wave.

Orix loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, but Sheldon fanned to kill that chance.

So on to the top of the ninth, when third baseman Yukio Tanaka outran a bleeder near the mound. Two outs later, Ide got a hold of a pitch from Hagiwara and slingshotted it into the leftfield bleachers for the "gyakuten two run" and a 3-2 Fighters advantage.

Tateyama was assigned the closer role in this one by Nippon Ham boss Yasunori Oshima and he struckout three of the four men he faced to put it on ice.

For Orix, Sheldon was 0-2 with two walks and a stolen base and is at .259.

For Nippon Ham, Obando was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .263. Leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 0-4 and is at .256.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

H. Nakamura              IP 7.0 PC 107 H 8 HR 0 K 5 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.07
A. Shimizu (W, 2-4) IP 1.0 PC   16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.18
Tateyama (S, 3)         IP 1.0 PC   24 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.37

Orix:

Kitagawa                   IP 7.2 PC 107 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.17
T. Yamamoto            IP 0.0 PC     8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08
J. Hagiwara (L, 2-4) IP 1.1 PC   26 H 2 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.75

2B: Ide
HR: Obando (25), Ide (13)
RBI: Obando, Ide 2, Goshima
GIDP: Tani

Season Series: Nippon Ham 14, Orix 8 2 Ties

Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Hayashi (HP), Shirai (1B), Tachibana (2B), Akimura (3B)

Hiroshima Hammers Yamakita to Slay Dragons 7-5

The Hiroshima Carp batting order pummeled Chunichi Dragons reliever Shigetoshi Yamakita for five runs in the sixth inning Friday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium to prevail 7-5. Kojiro Machida launched his 18th career pinch hit homer during that revolt, a three run jack that provided the margin of victory.

Kenta Asakura started for the Dragons and was hit up for two runs on three hits in five innings before being pinch hit for during a two run sixth inning rally that gave Chunichi a shortlived 3-2 lead.

Hiroki Kuroda started for Hiroshima and was gone after a mere two hitters, one of those reaching base. No indication as to why in the press reports in the national sports papers. He was replaced by Tetsuto Tomabechi, who tossed 4.2 innings of one unearned run ball to give his compatriots a chance to battle back, though Shigeo Tamaki was credited with the triumph.

The Carp got together to put a pair across in the second, as rightfielder Tomonori Maeda beat out a bouncer toward short, third baseman Takahiro Arai singled to center and both moved up on a groundball. Catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura was intentionally walked to pack the sacks. Tomabechi singled to center and both Maeda and Arai scurried in to make it 2-0 Hiroshima.

The Dragons halved that disadvantage in the fifth when Tomabechi plunked centerfielder Takayuki Onishi and, one out later, he was sacrificed to second. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to right and Onishi reported to make it 2-1 Carp.

The party from Nagoya then pushed to the front in the sixth, as Onishi cracked a two out single to center. Pinch hitter Yasuaki Taiho walked and pinch hitter Junichi Jinno doubled off the rightfield fence, even the slow footed Taiho lumbering around the diamond to go ahead 3-2.

Hiroshima, however, flattened Yamakita in the home portion. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata leadoff with a single to center and leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto walked. Both men advanced on a ground ball. Arai singled to left to convert Ogata and, one out later, Kimura singled to left for a 4-3 Carp lead. Machida was sent up to hit for Tamaki and he jackhammered a Yamakita offering well into the rightcenterfield seats and made it 7-3 Red Hell.

The seventh passed fairly uneventfully, but in the eighth, Dragons leftfielder Kazuki Inoue walked off of reliever Kanei Kobayashi and Onishi parked his second homer of the year in the rightfield bleachers to contract the gap to 7-5 Carp. Taiho pinged a two bagger off the rightfield fence and was pinch run for by Hidenori Kuramoto. Pinch hitter Shogo Mori walked and now the tying run was on base. Hiroshima manager Koji Yamamoto dialed local for Daisuke Sakai, who needed just three pitches to induce a double play ball and a comebacker to suffocate the threat.

Yasuhiro Oyamada then strode in for Hiroshima looking for his 28th save. The first two men got on thanks to an infield hit and a walk respectively. But he fanned Pinch hitter Koichi Sekikawa and tempted Inoue into grounding to third for a twin killing that ended the ballgame.

Machida already owns the CL record for lifetime pinch jacks, but his 18th elevated him to third all time behind Yasuhiro Takai of the Hankyu Braves, who has the record with 27, and Yasunori Oshima of Nippon Ham.

No foreign players batted in this game.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Asakura                IP 5.0 PC 85 H 3 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.73
Yamakita (L, 1-4) IP 1.0 PC 26 H 4 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 4.35
Yamai                   IP 1.0 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.87
Kito                      IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.76

Hiroshima:

Kuroda                    IP 0.1 PC   7 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.54
Tomabechi              IP 4.2 PC 81 H 2 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 1 ER 0 ERA 6.00
Tamaki (W, 5-1)     IP 1.0 PC 27 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.62
K. Kobayashi        IP 1.0 PC 38 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.74
D. Sakai                  IP 1.0 PC   3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 8.10
Oyamada (S, 28)   IP 1.0 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.89

E: K. Inoue
SB: Onishi, Araki, T. Kimura, Tomabechi
2B: Jinno, Taiho
RBI: Ibata, Onishi 2, Jinno 2, Arai, K. Kimura, Tomabechi 2, Machida 3
IBB: K. Kimura
HBP: Onishi (Tomabechi)
GIDP: Tatsunami, Hyodo, Ibata, K. Inoue

Season Series: Chunichi 12, Hiroshima 13

Game Time: 3:41
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Mori (1B), Kasahara (2B), Nishimoto (3B)

Rating Some Japanese Players' MLB Potential

See Acceleration Online article at: http://www.accelerationonline.com/sports_edwards_090902b.htm

One note, though: an editing glitch leftout the fact that the very past part of the penultimate paragraph leaves out the fact my comments were supposed to be about Hayato Terahara and not Daisuke Matsuzaka. But it's still a pretty good piece.

Yakult Ececutvr Imprisoned Over Financial Improprieties

See Yomiuri Shimbun story at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020913wo21.htm

Seung-yeop Lee Belts 41st Homer in Samsung Victory

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002091318454347110.htm

Taiwan's First Lady to Visit Dodgers' Chen

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/13/story/0000167947

Taipei Gets Closer to Playoffs in Taiwan Action

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/13/story/0000167934

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 13 and on that date in 1977, the Chunichi Dragons beat the Yomiuri Giants at Korakuen Stadium to halt a 19 game losing streak the Dragons had suffered at that ballpark.

September 9, 2002

Cabrera Ninth Inning Homer Ties it and Then Seibu Wins in 12 7-6

Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera tied up a faceoff with the Daiei Hawks Monday when he slammed a three run homer in the bottom of the ninth off of Shuji Yoshida at Seibu Dome. The Lions then got an RBI double from Tatsuya Ozeki with one out in the 12th to win it 7-6. The win reduces the Tokorozawa outfit's magic number to nine.

Tetsuya Shiozaki started for Seibu and threw three solid innings before blowing up in the fourth and exiting after giving up six hits and inducing just one out during a six run revolt by the Hawks. He was ultimately charged with five earned runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings.

Keisaburo Tanoue started for Daiei and was his usual mediocre self, permitting three runs in 5.2 innings on eight hits, needing to be rescued by Shinohara to avert real disaster.

Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui, in the midst of a 2-24 slump coming in to this game, began the bottom ot he first with a bang when he parked a Tanoue offering in the rightfield seats to make it 1-0 Seibu. That was his sixth first inning leadoff jack of the year.

Seibu then pounced for another run in the second, as third baseman Scott McClain, finally back after a long injury rehab, walked and was forced out at second when catcher Tsutomu Itoh grounded to Tanoue. Second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi then grounded into a 6-4 force play and stole second. Matsui singled to center. Tatsuya Ozeki, as part of the first four hit day of his career, singled to left to get Takagi in and it was 2-0 Lions.

Unfortunately for Seibu, though, the Hawks opened up with both barrels in the fourth and seized the upper hand. Pedro Valdez leadoff with a double down the leftfield line. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to left. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to right and Valdez reported with his team's inital tally. One out later, Noriyoshi Omichi singled to center and Kokubo galloped in to knot it at 2-2. Kawasaki doubled into the rightfield corner for the lead run. Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to center and Omichi was back in the dugout. Shiozaki was removed in favor of Yoshitaka Mizuo. Arihito Muramatsu legged out a bleeder toward short to load the bases. Hiroshi Shibahara singled to right to redeem Kawasaki and Valdez did likewise to drive in Torigoe and it was 6-2 Hawks.

Seibu got within striking range in the sixth when McClain singled to center with two down and Itoh doubled down the leftfield line. Takagi singled to left to plate McClain and Takayuki Shinohara was brought in to spell Tanoue. Matsui walked to pack the sacks. Ozeki, though, grounded out to end the inning.

Not much happened until the bottom of the ninth, when Matsui cracked a one out double to left and went to third on a groundout. Tetsuya Kakiuchi walked. Cabrera went up hoping to get a mistake on the inner half of the plate and he had his prayers answered, as Yoshida threw a 1-1 slider down that got too much of the plate and the burly ex-Diamondback uncorked a bullet that travelled more than 450 feet into the centerfield seats for a game tying three run homer to make it 6-6.

The Lions relief staff restrained the Hawks to one hit over the final eight innings. The club's offense then won it in the final at bat. With one down and Akira Matsumoto on the hill, Matsui walked. Seibu manager Haruki Ihara flashed the hit and run sign and Matsui lit out for second while Ozeki laced a screamer down the leftfield line, the very athletic infielder scoring without a play to bring the league title that much closer.

Detroit Tigers official Al Avila was at the game watching Matsui and didn't say much to reporters due to tampering regulations, though he offered that the PL Gakuen grad, who finished 4-5 with two walks and an RBI on the night and is batting .318, had trememdous speed and was a first rate player.

The Daiei loss assured that Seibu would win the season series between the two ballclubs. This makes it 21 years in a row that the Lions had taken the majority of the contests the two have engaged in. Anyone know if there is a comparable streak in MLB?

For Daiei, Valdez wasa 3-4 with an RBI and is at .307.

For Seibu. Cabrera was 2-5 with three RBIs and a walk and is at .334. JHe is now tied with Tuffy Rhodes for the Pacific League lead in RBIs with 104. McClain was 1-4 with two walks and is at .282.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Tanoue                      IP 5.2 PC 92 H 8 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.06
Shinohara                  IP 0.1 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.69
K. Okamoto               IP 2.0 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.40
S. Yoshida                 IP 0.2 PC 27 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.02
Pedraza                      IP 1.0 PC 30 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.30
H.K. Watanabe        IP 0.1 PC   3 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.86
Matsumoto (L, 0-2) IP 1.1 PC 31 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.09

Seibu:

T. Shiozaki            IP 3.1 PC 78 H 8 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.82
Mizuo                    IP 0.1 PC   6 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.06
Uchizono              IP 2.1 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
Mitsui                    IP 2.0 PC 34 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.93
S. Mori                   IP 2.0 PC 31 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.20
Doi                         IP 1.0 PC 22 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.52
Toyoda (W, 6-1) IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.93

SB: Wada, H. Takagi
2B: Ozeki 2, Muramatsu, Wada, P. Valdez 2, M. Kawasaki, T. Itoh, K. Matsui
HR: K. Matsui (28), Cabrera (49)
RBI: Shibahara, P. Valdez, Matsunaka, Omichi, M. Kawasaki, Torigoe, K. Matsui, Ozeki 2, Cabrera 3, H. Takagi,
IBB: McClain
GIDP: Omichi

Season Series: Daiei 7, Seibu 15

Game Time: 5:03
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Tachibana (HP), Sakaemura (1B), Akimura (2B), Fujimoto (3B)

Kanemura Shuts Out Kintetsu on Five Hits 4-0

Nippon Ham Fighters southpaw Satoru Kanemura matched his career single season high in victories Monday, as he twirled a five hit shutout against the Kintetsu Buffaloes at Tokyo Dome for his first such complete game goose egg fest in three years.Fighters first baseman Michihiro Ogaswara also ended a 32 at bat homerless streak when he went midieval on a high fastball from Kintetsu starter Daisuke Miyamoto and hacked it over the rightcenterfield wall in the third for his 28th dinger of the season.

Miyamoto has pretty decent stuff, but at just under 21 years old, he still has some command issues and that defect displayed itself in the second. Fighters leftfielder D.T. Cromer leadoff with a double down the rightfield line and third baseman Yukio Tanaka walked. Both runners were sacrificed along. But that really wasn't necessary, since Miyamoto also walked both catcher Toshihiro Noguchi and centerfielder Yutaka Nakamura to force in Cromer and make it 1-0 Nippon Ham. Miyamoto then collected himself and induced a couple of foul outs to keep himself and his team in the game.

An inning later, though, Ogasawara swung from the heels and lined a bazooka shot into the seats and it was 2-0 Fighters.

Miyamoto, who has been in the bullpen almost all of his two year career, then showed signs of fatigue in the sixth while being hurt by his defense, too. Tanaka put a whipping on one for a double that pierced the rightcenter gap. One out later, Noguchi walked. Nakamura lofted a fly ball to left and leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes clanked it to load the bases. Second baseman Ken Tanaka walked to force in Yukio Tanaka. Shortstop Hiroshi Narahara singled to left to send in Noguchi and it was 4-0. Kintetsu manager Masataka Nashida went to the pen for Shogo Yamamoto, who threw cold water on the keg of dynamite that is Ogasawara by getting him to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and keep it at 4-0.

Kanemura had Kintetsu in the bag the whole game, as they had one very minor scoring threat in the third and then it was suffocation city from there, as no Kintetsu runner got past first base the final six innings.

The Hanshin Tigers had been contemplating making an offer to Rhodes for next season, but the former Cub says he intends to stay with the Buffs for the foreseeable future. This is good news for a team that is both losing money and facing the loss of its star third baseman to either MLB or another Japanese club (with the big players being Hanshin and Yomiuri, who would dump Akira Etoh).

For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 0-4 and is at .268. Cromer was 1-4 and is at .260.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-4 and is at .264.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

D. Miyamoto (L, 1-2) IP 5.1 PC 105 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 8 R 4 ER 2 ERA 4.22
S. Yamamoto IP 1.2 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.51
Yoshikawa IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 27.00

Nippon Ham:

Kanemura (W, 9-3) IP 9.0 PC 109 H 5 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.82

E: Rhodes
2B: Cromer, Y. Tanaka
HR: M. Ogasawara (28)
RBI: Ken Tanaka, Narahara, M. Ogasawara, Y. Nakamura
GIDP: Isobe, Obando, M. Ogasawara

Season Series: Kintetsu 12, Nippon Ham 10

Game Time: 2:40
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Yanagida (HP), Hirabayashi (1B), Yamazaki (2B), Nakamura (3B)

Goshima Two Run Homer All Ogura Needs to Beat Lotte 2-0

When you are a team in the lower part of the standings, often that is because you can't score runs. This game saw the two of the three worst offenses in Japanese baseball facing each other and the results were perhaps predictable, as Hisashi Ogura and the improved Shingo Ono battled each other to a near draw except for one little mistake that Ono made in the sixth that resulted in him being splattered with the kuroboshi, a slider that Orix first baseman Yuji Goshima beat the daylights out of and left in the rightfield seats with centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani standing on first for a 2-0 final score.

The truth was that neither pitcher was that effective, as Ogura was mugged for ten hits in 7.1 innings and Ono for eight, meaning that both sides had ample opportunities to put crooked numbers on the board, but didn't. For example, Lotte had men on first and third with one down in the top of the first until DH Frank Bolick tapped to Koichi Oshima, who executed the twin killing.

Lotte then had the first two hitters of the second aboard on singles to center, only to have that sputter on a fly out, a groundout, and a baserunning mistake.

Lotte loaded the bases on three straight one out singles to left in the fourth, but the next two men popped out and grounded out to snuff that rally.

In the fifth, Orix would be frustrated when they got an infield hit, a single to left and a double to to rightcenter and not have anyone score. The log doesn't indicate why, but you know you're going bad when THAT happens. I'm guessing that someone got thrown out tring to go to third, but who knows?

Orix, though, did indeed finally get something going for a brief time when Tani singled to start the sixth and, one out later, Goshima crushed a liner out of the field of play, his sixth of the year and only the ninth of his eight year career. Moreover, he has three of those jacks in his last six games.

Lotte went to sleep once Ogura was out of the game, as Toshihiro Kase and Jun Hagiwara combined for 1.2 innings of hitless baseball to secure the victory for Orix.

One interesting feature of this one for you trivia buffs is that Goshima, who was drafted as a pitcher and then converted to an infielder, was the offesive hero while Hagiwara, who was drafted as an infielder but converted a couple of years ago into a pitcher, earned the save.

For Lotte, Bolick was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .211. Leftfielder Derrick May was 2-4 and is at .258.

For Orix, DH Scott Sheldon was 0-3 with a walk and is at .258.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

S. Ono (L, 2-7) IP 8.0 PC 118 H 8 HR 1 K 4 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.89

Orix:

H. Ogura (W, 4-3) IP 7.1 PC 115 H 10 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.35
Kase IP 0.1 PC 1 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.52
J. Hagiwara (S, 7) IP 1.1 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.48

2B: S. Omura, Fukuura, Shindo 2
HR: Goshima (6)
RBI: Goshima 2
GIDP: Bolick

Season Series: Lotte 10, Orix 11

Game Time: 2:46
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Higashi (HP), Iizuka (1B), Hayashi (2B), Kakigizono (3B)

Cubs Hee-seop Choi Gets First MLB Hit, a 432 Foot Blast

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090917200747110.htm

Two Davis Homers Gets Song 160th Win in KBO Action

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090917270047110.htm

Taiwan Appeals to Keep Baseball in Olympics

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/09/story/0000167477

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for Septmeber 9th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1973, Yakult pitcher Takeshi Yasuda extended his walkless streak to 81 innings, which is a record. Yasuda went 10-12 that season despite a stellar 2.02 ERA in 208.2 innings, striking out 107 and walking 25. His best year was in 1975, when he went 16-12 with four saves and a 2.73 ERA in a career high 243.2 innings. Lifetime, he was 93-80 with a 3.26 ERA in ten seasons.

September 8, 2002

Seven Run Yokohama Eighth Downs Hanshin 9-4

Isn't it weird how pitchers can just fall apart all of a sudden? Take the Hanshin Tigers lefthander Trey Moore as an example. He was sailing along on the wings of two hitter for seven innings and then went to pieces in the eighth, as the Yokohama Bay Stars put a seven spot on the board to win it in a walk 9-4. George Arias homered twice for the losers.

Yuji Yoshimi started for Yokohama and got the complete game win despite giving up four runs, all earned and all at the hands of Arias, on six hits. This was his first win in a month. Pic of Yoshimi at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200209/image/02090906yosimiOS053908_b.jpg

Moore and Yoshimi battled to scoreless standstill until the fourth, when Hanshin rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama doubled to right and Arias lined a changeup just inside the leftfield foul pole to put the Tigers up 2-0.

Moore had a no hitter until the sixth, when Yokohama came back to knot it. With one down, Yoshimi walked and shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to center. Moore then plunked pinch hitter Hitoshi Nakane to load the bases. Kazunori Tanaka came in to run for Nakane. One out later, leftfielder Takanori Suzuki clocked one into the rightcenter gap for a double and both Yoshimi and Ishii motored in to make it 2-2.

Then in the eighth, Yokohama really took it to a tiring Moore as well as a much fresher Masashi Date. To be fair to Moore, Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino probably shouldn't have allowed the former Brave to come out for the eighth, but he did and it was goodbye ballgame. With one down, second baseman Hitoshi Taneda doubled down the leftfield line and Suzuki belted a shot into the rightcenterfield stands for a 4-2 Stars advantage. One out later, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues walked and stole second. Pinch hitter Takashi Manei doubled into the rightcenter alley and Rodrigues lumbered all the way around. Catcher Takeshi Nakamura grounded to shortstop Yoshihiro Okihara, who booted it. Yoshimi doubled to rightcenter to plate Manei and Hoshino finally came out and got Moore and put Date in his stead. Ishii singled to right to bring in Nakamura. Centerfielder Tanaka singled singled to center to redeem Yoshimi and Taneda did likewise to score Ishii and it was 9-2 Stars.

Hanshin scored twice more in the ninth when Arias golfed a curve ball into the leftfield seats with third baseman Atsushi Kataoka at first on a single to center, but that was all they could muster and Kentaro Sekimoto struckout for the last out.

Veteran Tigers pitcher Nobuyuki Hoshino announced that he was going to retire at the end of the season. Hoshino, a soft tossing winner of 176 career games, has had injury problems the last couple of seasons. Too, he also apparently has a circulatory condition that could inhibit any intentions of continuing his career.

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 0-4 with a walk and is at .263.

For Hanshin, Arias was 2-4 with four RBIs and two strikeouts and is at .254. He has 26 homers and could become the first Hanshin hitter since Cecil Fielder in 1989 to slug 30 (Cecil had 38). Shinjo's 28 in 2000 were the most since Fielder went back to the states for a Tigers player.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

Yoshimi (W, 8-6) IP 9.0 PC 139 H 6 HR 2 K 11 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.57

Hanshin:

Moore (L, 10-11) IP 7.2 PC 132 H 6 HR 1 K 4 BB 4 R 8 ER 5 ERA 3.29
Date IP 0.1 PC 14 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.32
Kanazawa IP 1.0 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.10

E: Okihara, Sekimoto
SB: Manei, Rodrigues
2B: Hiyama, T. Suzuki, Okihara, Taneda, Manei, Yoshimi, Ogawa
HR: Arias 2 (26), T. Suzuki (9)
RBI: T. Ishii, K.N. Tanaka, Taneda, T. Suzuki 4, Manei, Yoshimi, Arias 4
WP: Kanazawa
HBP: Nakane (Moore)
GIDP: Rodrigues

Season Series: Yokohama 8, Hanshin 16 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:06
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Ino (1B), Nemoto (2B), Kamimoto (3B)

11th Inning RBI Singles by Asai, Nomura Reduces Giants CL Lead to 6.5 Games

RBI singles in the top of the 11th inning by Itsuki Asai and Kenjiro Nomura broke a 1-1 deadlock Sunday at Tokyo Dome to help the Hiroshima Carp knock another game off the lead the Yomiuri Giants enjoy in the Central League pennant race. Koji Uehara, hoping to pick up his 17th win, went ten innings of one run, 154 pitch baseball, striking out seven and walking three, only to not get a decision. Instead,. Junichi Kawahara absorbed his third defeat after pitching that fatefull 11th. Yomiuri has lost three in a row for the first time in three months.

Masayuki Hasegawa held the Giants offense to five hits and a run over six innings and then handed it off to three relievers, who twirled five innings of two hit ball to maintain the tie until their offense could get organized.

Hasegawa managed to slither out of a two out, men on second and third predicament in the first inning by getting Akira Etoh to foul out and then had two more on in the third before extricating himself out of that one.

Hiroshima then gave Hasegawa a lead, though they made rather inefficient use of the three hits and a walk they amassed in it. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata leadoff with a double to rightcenter and, one out later, rightfielder Tomonori Maeda singled to center. First baseman Takahiro Arai doubled off the centerfield wall to push Ogata in and make it 1-0. Kenta Kurihara struckout. Catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura was intentionally walked to get to Hasegawa, who fanned to snuff a promising rally.

The Giants then equalized it in their half when Daisuke Motoki leadoff with a single to left, stole second, and, two outs later, Uehara wacked a fastball off the leftfield wall to drive in Motoki and lock it up at 1-1.

In the seventh, Hiroshima put a man on third on a double and a sacrifice with one out, but Uehara then lured two of the next three men into routine outs (the other was a walk) and that was that. They then had men on first and second with two outs in the ninth and couldn't deliver there, either, so it went into extra innings.

Maeda leadoff the 11th with a single to center and Kazunori Okagami was dispatched to pinch run. Kawahara then made a bad pickoff throw and Okagami went to second on the error. One out later, Itsuki Asai was sent in to pinch hit after not having seen any action in six games and singled to right to plate Okagami. Asai moved to second on a groundout and Nomura singled to center to score him and it was 3-1 Carp. You can see a pic of Asai's swing on the hit at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200209/image/02090904asaiKT100908_b.jpg

Yasuhiro Oyamada was assigned the closing role and two groundouts and a strikeout he was finished and so was this game.

No foreigners played in this one.

Pitching Lines:

Hiroshima:

Hasegawa                 IP 6.0 PC 94 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.59
K. Kobayashi           IP 2.0 PC 27 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.24
Tamaki (W, 4-1)       IP 2.0 PC 25 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.40
Oyamada (S, 27)      IP 1.0 PC   7 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.95

Yomiuri:

Uehara IP 10.0 PC 154 H 7 HR 0 K 7 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.58
J. Kawahara (L, 4-3) IP 1.0 PC 25 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.51

E: K. Kimura, J. Kawahara
SB: Motoki
2B: H. Matsui, Kurihara 2, Ogata, Arai, Uehara
IBB: K. Kimura
HBP: S. Abe (K. Kobayashi), Ogata (Uehara)

Season Series: Hiroshima 11, Yomiuri 15 1 Tie

Game Time: 4:01
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Tomoyori (HP), Yoshimoto (1B), Fukatani (2B), T. Kobayashi (3B)

Ishikawa Six Hits Dragons and Yakult Now Making a Race of It

Little rookie screwballer Masanori Ishikawa had the best outing of his so far brief career Sunday at Meiji Jingu Stadium for the Yakult Swallows, as he limited the Chunichi Dragons to one run on six hits in a complete game dazzler that rectified a big setback the previous evening against the Nagoya contingent. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura lead the way with this 20th homer and two RBIs while catcher Atsuya Furuta and backup rightfielder Atsunori Inaba also each drove in a pair to overwhelm Dragons starter Shigeki Noguchi, who was making his first appearance since going on the disabled list with an elbow ligamentt problem in the early part of the season.

Iwamura put the Swallows in front to stay in the second when he followed a walk to leftfielder Alex Ramirez with a shot into the leftfield bleachers to make it 2-0.

While Ishikawa was on the way to collecting 16 groundball outs, his teammates went back on the chain gang in the fourth when starting rightfielder Shinichi Sato leadoff with a single to center and was forced out at second on a groundball by first baseman Roberto Petagine. Ramirez singled to center and Iwamura walked to load the bases. That brought up Furuta, who rolled one between third and short and out into leftfield to cash in both Petagine and Ramirez. The gimpy future Hall of Fame inductee is now 8-9 when the bags are juiced this year. Second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi grounded to short, but Ishikawa tapped a little groundball toward short that Hirokazu Ibata couldn't do anything with and Iwamura crossed to expand the Swallows margin to 5-0. That was Ishikawa's first pro RBI.

In the sixth, the Dragons got their only run when rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome drilled a fastball off the rightcenterfield wall and the ball carromed somewhere they were not and he circled the bases for an inside the park homer to make it 5-1 Yakult.

The Swallows then put it away in the eighth against reliever Eiji Ochiai, as Ramirez commenced the fusillade with a double into the rightcenter alley and, one out later, Furuta was intentionally walked to get to Dobashi, who made them pay for the insult with an RBI single to left. After Ishikawa flew out, centerfielder Tetsuya Iida singled to right to load the bases. Ochiai walked Noriyuki Shiroishi to force in a run. Inaba dug in and lashed a single to center to plate both Iida and Furuta and open a yawning 9-1 lead. Ishikawa then got three of the four men he saw in the ninth and it was hasta la vista.

After the game, Chunichi coaches told reporters that Noguchi had nothing at all in this one, his velocity being down as well as the movement on his pitches being rather dull.

On the other hand, Ishikawa is making a strong Rookie of the Year bid since he is 3-1 with a 2.54 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of August and has a total of nine victories, the most of any first year hurler thus far in 2002.

For Yakult, Petagine was 0-4 and is at .327. Ramirez was 2-3 with a walk and three runs scored and is at .305.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

S. Noguchi (L, 0-1) IP 4.0 PC 65 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 11.25
Yamai                        IP 2.0 PC 38 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.91
Endo                         IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.20
Ochiai                       IP 1.0 PC 36 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.25

Yakult:

Masanori Ishikawa (W, 9-7) IP 9.0 PC 102 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.30

2B: M. Takahashi, Ramirez
HR: Iwamura (20), Fukudome (16)
RBI: Fukudome, Shiroishi, Inaba 2, Iwamura 2, Furuta 2, Dobashi, Masanori Ishikawa
IBB: Furuta
GIDP: Ibata

Season Series: Chunichi 9, Yakult 14 1 Tie

Game Time: 2:35
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Honda (HP), Watada (1B), Manabe (2B), Tani (3B)

Cabrera Slugs 48th in Seibu Victory Over Orix

Seibu Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera is now just one away from matching last year's homer total, as he jacked out his 48th of the year Sunday at Seibu Dome to give his side a shortlived 4-3 lead against Koo Dae-sung and the Orix Blue Wave. Orix rallied to tie it, but then Lions third baseman Hiroshi Hirao got sawed completely off by Hidetaka Kawagoe in the eighth inning with the bases full and the ball fell in safely anyway for two runs and a 6-4 triumph.

Orix went out to a 2-0 lead in the second when rightfielder Ikuro Katsuragi singled to left with one away and leftfielder Ryota Aikawa guided one into the leftfield seats for his fifth homer of the season.

Koo held that advantage until the fourth, when he walked DH Toshiaki Inubushi, Cabrera looped a double that probably should have been caught over the head of second baseman Koichi Oshima, and leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada then took the first pitch he saw in this at bat and rocketed it into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 3-2 Lions.

Orix evened it 3-3 in the fifth, however, when Oshima drew a one out walk, went to second on a groundout and headed home on a single to right by centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani.

Cabrera, though, worked the count to 3-2 leading off the sixth before mauling a sixth pitch changeup on the outer half of the plate and ripping a laser beam into the leftfield bleachers to make it 4-3 Seibu.

Seibu put men on first and third with one out in the seventh, but catcher Tsutomu Itoh's liner was flagged down by Tatsuya Shindo at third, who stepped on the bag for a double play to keep things where they were.

Orix then brought it back to equilibrium in the eighth, as centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani walked and stole second for his 30th theft of the year, the most for Orix since Ichiro swiped 39 in 1997. Tani moved to third on a groundout and then loped in on a single to right by first baseman Yuji Goshima to make it 4-4.

Kawagoe was sent in to pitch the eighth and that turned out to be a bad move. Pinch hitter Taisei Takagi leadoff by outrunning a bouncer toward short. Cabrera walked. Both moved up on a groundout. Masahide Kaizuka was intentionally walked to set up a force at every base. Kawagoe then ran an 88mph fastball on the inner half of the plate up to Hirao, whose bat "died a hero," as Rex Hudler is fond of saying, and it was 6-4 Seibu. Kiyoshi Toyoda walked in to save it and needed just eight pitches to get the job done for his 29th. You gotta like that 0.95 ERA, too.

For Orix, Sheldon was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .260.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and three runs scored and is at .333. He has four homers in five
September games.

Pitching Lines:

Orix:

Koo IP 6.1 PC 116 H 8 HR 2 K 9 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.52
Kawagoe (L, 3-11) IP 1.2 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.02

Seibu:

Takashi Ishii            IP 6.1 PC 103 H 7 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.57
Doi                           IP 0.2 PC      6 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.60
S. Mori (W, 6-6)     IP 1.0 PC    19 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.26
Toyoda (S, 29)       IP 1.0 PC      8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.95

SB: Tani, K. Matsui
2B: K. Oshima, Cabrera, Hirao
HR: Ryota Aikawa (5), Wada (28), Cabrera (48)
RBI: Tani, Goshima, Ryota Aikawa 2, Cabrera, Wada 3, Hirao 2
IBB: Kaizuka

Season Series: Orix 5, Seibu 18

Game Time: 3:01
Attendance: 25,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Fujimoto (1B), Tachibana (2B), Sakaemura (3B)

Kokubo 10th Inning Sayonara Homer Sinks Kintetsu 3-2

A tenth inning ride into the leftfield seats with one out in the bottom of the tenth inning Sunday at Fukuoka Dome by slumping Daiei Hawks third baseman Hiroki Kokubo dissolved a 2-2 tie and won it for the Kyushu birds of prey over the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Okamoto (Katsunori) got credit for the win while Okamoto (Akira) was hung with the loss. More interesting, perhaps, is that manager Sadaharu Oh earned his 873rd win helming a ballclub to move into 12th on the all time list.

Tomohiro Nagai started for Daiei and you couldn't ask much more from him than what he gave his team this time around, as he went seven fine innings of two run ball on three hits, though he did walk four.

For Kintetsu, Hiroshi Takamura lasted just five innings, but he also permitted just two runs, and, like Nagai, didn't figure in the decision.

The Buffs pulled to the front of the line in the fourth when Nagai dispensed a free pass to second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi and, one out later, third baseman Norihiro Nakamura banged a 2-2 forkball that was down in the zone into the centerfield stands for his first homer in four games and his 33rd overall to make it 2-0 Kintetsu.

Daiei chipped one off of that disparity in the fifth when shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to center to leadoff the fifth and was forced out on a groundout by centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara. Leftfielder Arihito Muramatsu then steamed one into the leftfield corner and Shibahara sprinted all the way home. However, Muramatsu also got greedy and was gunned down trying to take third, which turned out to be a significant mistake when the next hitter, rightfielder Yudai Deguchi, pancaked one off the centerfield wall for two bases. DH Pedro Valdez grounded out and Takamura escaped with fairly minimal damage, though it was now 2-1.

Kintetsu put a man on third with one down in the eighth, but couldn't drive him in, which loomed large when the Hawks knotted it in the bottom of the inning thanks to a one out Valdez double (he was subsequently pinch run for by Motoi Okoshi) and a two out single to left by first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka.

Daiei had a mild two on, two out scoring opportunity in the ninth and didn't get the clutch hit, so it was left up to Kokubo in the succeedding frame, as he flambed a running fastball into the mezzanine section for the game winner.

For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-3 with a walk and is at .266.

For Daiei, Valdez was 1-3 with a walk and is at .302.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Takamura                     IP 5.0 PC 73 H 6 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.25
S. Yamamoto               IP 0.1 PC   4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.75
Misawa                        IP 2.0 PC 24 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.81
T. Yoshida                   IP 0.1 PC 10 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.22
A. Okamoto (L, 5-1)    IP 1.2 PC 29 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.80

Daiei:

Nagai                               IP 7.0 PC 118 H 3 HR 1 K 4 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.50
Shinohara                       IP 0.2 PC      3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.71
K. Okamoto (W, 4-1)    IP 2.1 PC     36 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.47

2B: Muramatsu, Deguchi, P. Valdez,
HR: N. Nakamura (33), Kokubo (27)
RBI: N. Nakamura 2, Muramatsu, Kokubo, Matsunaka
GIDP: N. Omura

Season Series: Kintetsu 10, Daiei 12 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:50
Attendance: 47,000
Umpires: Sugimoto (HP), Nagami (1B), Maeda (2B), Sato (3B)

Seelbach Wins Seventh Againts Lotte 4-3

Since winning his first three Japan starts, Nippon Ham righthander Chris Seelbach has seen the victories come once in a blue moon, as he picked up just his fourth since that first month Sunday against the Chiba Lotte Marines in a 4-3 decision. Seelbach went five innings and gave up two runs on seven hits to improve his record to 7-6.

Kosuke Kato started for Lotte and he was pretty mediocre, going six innings of three run ball on five hits to accept his 12th loss.

Seelbach was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first, as Nippon Ham shortstop Hiroshi Narahara leadoff the game with a single to center, stole second, went to third on a single to right by second baseman Takaya Hayashi and scored on a sac fly to center by first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara. One out later, third baseman Yukio Tanaka doubled down the leftfield line to redeem Hayashi for the second Fighters' tally.

Lotte scrapped for a run in their portion when first baseman Kazuya Fukuura seared a two out double into the lefttfield corner, DH Frank Bolick walked and leftfielder Derrick May singled to center to cash in Fukuura. Seelbach walked second baseman Koichi Hori to load the bases, but third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba grounded to second to extinguish the prospect of any further fireworks.

Lotte then had an opportunity to blow it open in the second and geeked it. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka singled to center with one gone and was sacrificed to second. Centerfielder Takashi Tachikawa singled to left to catapult Kosaka in, but he then attempted to score on a double to rightcenter from Fukuura and he was dead on arrival at home and the inning was over.

The game devolved into a rather placid affair until the sixth, when Nippon Ham eased ahead. Ogasawara leadoff by blasting a shot off the leftfield wall for a double. Two outs later, leftfielder D.T. Cromer walked. Rightfielder Katsuhiro Nishiura singled to center for his inital RBI of the 2002 campaign and it was 3-2 Fighters.

In the ninth, Nishiura, who slugged 20 homers in 1998 but had just four more the next three seasons, raked a slider from Hiroyuki Kobayashi into the leftfield stands to make it 4-2 Nippon Ham.

Hiroshi Shibakusa tried to finish it for the Fighters in the bottom of the inning, but got into a bit of a dustup. Yukihiko Sato leadoff with a pinch hit single to right. One out later, rightfielder Kenji Morozumi walked. Following another out, Fukuura singled to center to convert Sato and make it 4-3. Now with the tying run in scoring position, Frank Bolick flew out to center for one tense Fighters victory.

For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was 0-4 and is at .270. Cromer was 0-3 with a walk and is at .260.

For Lotte, Bolick was 0-3 with two walks and is at .216. May was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .255.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

Seelbach (W, 7-6)     IP 5.0 PC 88 H 7 HR 0 K 0 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.73
Tateyama                   IP 3.0 PC 35 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.42
Shibakusa (S, 10)      IP 1.0 PC 22 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.30

Lotte:

K. Kato (L, 8-12)      IP 6.0 PC 111 H 5 HR 0 K 5 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.02
H. Kobayashi          IP 2.2 PC    44 H 3 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.75
T. Kawai                  IP 0.1 PC       5 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.15

SB: Narahara
2B: Y. Tanaka, Fukuura 2, Hori, M. Ogasawara, Narahara, T. Noguchi
HR: Nishiura (1)
RBI: M. Ogasawara, Y. Tanaka, Nishiura 2, Tachikawa, Fukuura, May
SF: M. Ogasawara
HBP: Kosaka (Seelbach)
GIDP: Bolick

Season Series: Nippon Ham 8, Lotte 14

Game Time: 3:23
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Nakamura (HP), Yamazaki (1B), Kawaguchi (2B), Yanagida (3B)

Seung-yeop Lee Drills 40th Homer in KBO Action

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090817032047110.htm

Brother Elephants Trounce Sinon Bulls 16-7 in Taiwan Action

See Taipei Times article at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/08/story/0000167360

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 8th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1970, Yakult Swallows first baseman Takeshi Kuwata was arrested for participating in a plot to fix auto races. Kuwata never played again, though it needs to be stressed that he was about to call it a day anyway after 12 seasons, ten of them spent with the Taiyo Whales, with whom he was a pretty reliable 25 homers plus a year guy. He won the Rookie of the Year title in 1959 when he pounded a CL best 31 homers and drove in 84 (he also stole 25 bases) while batting .269. He then batted .301 the following year, when Taiyo won a Japan Series title. Lifetime, he hit .264 with 223 homers and 674 RBIs and an OPS of .804.

September 7, 2002

Yakult Pennant Dreams Take a Big 9-2 Hit from Chunichi

The Yakult Swallows haven't lost a game at Meiji Jingu Stadium since July 30th and they aren't in a position, in endeavoring to catch and pass the Central League frontrunning Yomiuri Giants, to where they can afford to break that string, but that is what happened Saturday at the birds' nest, as the Chunichi Dragons Kenta Asakura befuddeled the Swallows lineup with an assortment of sliders, forkballs and 93-94mph fastballs that were consistenly down the zone in a 9-2 victory by the party from Nagoya. Yakult is now 11-1-2 in its last 14 tilts at home.

On the other hand, Waseda University grad Yuya Kamada had the shortest outing of his pro career, lasting just slightly over an inning before surrendering six hits, two of them piercing the light, misting rain to leave the field of play, for a total of six runs to accept blame for the defeat.

The Dragons took a bite out of Kamada's hide in the first, as rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome singled to right with two down and all star third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami went hammertime to left for a 2-0 Chunichi lead.

Dragons first baseman Mitsunobu Takahashi, still a rookie even though he is in his third year with the team, leadoff with a blast into the leftfield stands to be the beginning of the end for Kamada. Pinch hitter Takayuki Onishi legged out a roller toward second and was sacrificed to second (can someone please explain to me why you would sacrifice when it is obvious that the opposition hurler has nothing?). Asakura then steamed a two bagger to leftcenter to redeem Onishi. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to right and Swallows boss Tsutomu Wakamatsu gave Kamada the hook in favor of Hirotsugu Maeda. One out later, Fukudome singled to center and both Ibata and Asakura reported to make it 6-0

Yakult shortened the deficit mildly in the third when catcher Atsuya Furuta leadoff with a single to center and was forced at second on a groundout by second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi. Shinichi Sato was dispatched to hit for Maeda and he laced a double down the leftfield line. Centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka grounded out to second to recall Shiroishi and shortstop Shinya Miyamoto smacked a double into the leftfield corner to convert Sato and it was 6-2 Dragons.

Things got pretty placid until the eighth, when Yasuaki Taiho, pinch hitting for Takahashi, boomed an offering from Masato Hanada into the rightfield seats to make it 7-2 Dragons.

While Asakura was in the process of disposing of the final 14 Swallows hitters, his teammates went back on the attack in the ninth for another pair of scores. Ibata kicked it off with a walk and, one out later, Fukudome singled to left, Ibata putting it in gear for third. Tatsunami flew out to center to drive in Ibata. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige walked. Taiho singled to right and Fukudome crossed for the 9-2 final.

For Yakult, first baseman Roberto Petagine was 0-4 and is at .331. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .302.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Asakura (W, 9-10) IP 9.0 PC 118 H 5 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.70

Yakult:

Kamada (L, 3-2)    IP 1.1 PC 39 H 6 HR 2 K 1 BB 0 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.78
H. Maeda              IP 1.2 PC 33 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.09
S. Matsuda           IP 2.0 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.69
Newman                IP 1.0 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.78
Yamabe                 IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.29
Hanada                  IP 2.0 PC 53 H 4 HR 1 K 4 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.14

SB: Sekikawa
2B: Asakura, S. Sato, S. Miyamoto,
HR: Tatsunami (13), M. Takahashi (1), Taiho (3)
RBI: Fukudome 2, Tatsunami 3, M. Takahashi, Taiho 2, Asakura, Manaka, S. Miyamoto
SF: Tatsunami

Season Series: Chunichi 9, Yakult 13 1 Tie

Game Time: 2:58
Attendance: 22,000
Umpires: Kittaka (HP), Manabe (1B), Tani (2B), Honda (3B)

Two Run Kazuyoshi Kimura Homer Beats Giants 4-3

Yomiuri Giants centerfielder Hideki Matsui walked away from this contest with a new Japan record for scoring 100 runs five years in a row, shattering Sadaharu Oh's previous mark of four, when he connected for his career high tying 42nd homer in the fourth inning of Saturday's game against the Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo Dome, but it was little known catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura who decided the outcome of the game for the visitors when he put the big hurt on a first pitch slider from Yomiuri starter Kimiyasu Kudoh in the seventh for a two run jack to leftcenter with Kenta Kurihara aboard and two outs in a 4-3 Carp triumph. Kudoh later told reporters that he wasn't pitching smart and that resulted in his team going down to defeat.

The Giants took a shortlived lead in the bottom of the first when catcher Shinnosuke Abe reamed a delivery from Hiroshima starter Hiroki Kuroda beyond the rightcenterfield fence to make it 1-0.

That evaporated when the first batter of the Hiroshima second, leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto, lost a Kudoh pitch in the rightfield seats to even it at 1-1.

In the third, Hiroshima utilityman Takuya Kimura put his side in front when he slugged one over the leftfield wall for his fifth homer of the season and a 2-1 Carp advantage.

Matsui, however, couldn't stand that in the fourth. Abe catalyzed it with a single to right and then Matsui put the good wood on an 89mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and lined it well into the centerfield bleachers for a "gyakuten (come from behind) two run" and a 3-2 Giants lead. This also makes it nine straight series in which Godzilla has gone yard for a new personal best. You can see a pic of the swing on the blast at: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/09/08/20020908005451.jpg

Both pitcher settled in and the respective offenses were in full sputter mode until Kudoh cracked for five minutes in the seventh. The first two men flew out, but then third baseman Kurihara, the only current active player from rural Yamagata Prefecture, singled to left and Kazuyoshi Kimura, who may be the most anonymous .300 hitting backstop in all of Japan, was sent up to pinch hit for starting receiver Shuji Nishiyama and selected the initial pitch he saw and was soon jogging around the bases and the Carp had a 4-3 edge.

Kuroda, who was able to tempt the Giants lineup into going fishing for balls out of the zone, was on a dominant streak until the ninth, when rightfielder Takayuki Saito leadoff with a single to center and was moved to second on a sac bunt. But first baseman Koji Goto grounded to second and pinch hitter Yoshinaga struckout and it was "game setto."

With the three balls that disappeared upon leaving his hand in this game, Kudoh has now been lit up for 19 homers, the most of any Giants moundsman and the greatest number of ding dongs the great southpaw has been victimized for since 1986, when he was touched for 22.

If it seems as if Matsui has been hot lately, he has, batting .403 with 12 homers since August 11. He was also measured by team doctors as having the best upper body conditioning of anyone on the club. He is on pace for 50 homers and I dug up a couple of articles that those curious about him might want to look at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/09/07/SP163754.DTL
http://www.weekender.co.jp/LatestEdition/010406/coverstory.html

In addition, USA Today's Rod Beaton claims that the Dodgers are interested in pursuing Matsui ("look for them to after him the hardest," he says) to go along with the Yankees, Braves, Mariners, Mets and SF Giants.

No foreigners played in this game.

Pitching Lines:

Hiroshima:

Kuroda (W, 9-8) IP 9.0 PC 146 H 8 HR 2 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.55

Yomiuri:

Kudoh (L, 8-8) IP 7.0 PC 99 H 6 HR 3 K 7 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.80
Okajima IP 2.0 PC 32 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.51

HR: S. Abe (15), Kanemoto (22), T. Kimura (5), H. Matsui (42), K. Kimura (4)
RBI: T. Kimura, Kanemoto, K. Kimura 2, S. Abe, H. Matsui 2
GIDP: Nioka

Season Series: Hiroshima 10, Yomiuri 15 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:01
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Arisumi (HP), Fukatani (1B), T. Kobayashi (2B), Tomoyori (3B)

Kawajiri Two Hits Yokohama 4-1

The secret number in Saturday's faceoff between the Hanshin Tigers and the Yokohama Bay Stars was 33, as 33 year olds Tetsuro Kawajiri, Shinjiro Hiyama, and Katsuhiko Yamada combined to shoot down the Stars 4-1. Kawajiri grabbed his fifth victory with a complete game two hit tour de force while Hiyama and Yamada each homered and drove in two runs to provide the necessary offensive punch. Thanks to Sports Nippon for the age angle.

Shane Bowers started for Yokohama and was responsible for all four Tigers runs in five innings to be afflicted with his seventh kuroboshi of 2002.

Hanshin used the otherwise less than fleet feet of third baseman Atsushi Kataoka in the first to cadge an advantage, as he cracked a two out single to center and stole second. Hiyama produced the clutch single on a 3-2 count to center and it was 1-0 Tigers.

That was soon history, though, as third baseman Katsuaki Furuki, a 22 year old ex-number one draft choice whose career has been impeded by defensive problems, put a solid swing on a Kawajiri curve ball and launched it over the centerfield fence to level it at 1-1. That is his first pro longball.

But in the fourth, Hiyama inaugurated the fourth when he brutalized an 88mph fastball and left it deep into the centerfield stands to put the Osaka favorite sons in the driver's seat at 2-1. Two outs later, second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto singled to center and Yamada poleaxed a first pitch 88mph fastball into the leftfield seats and it was 4-1 Hanshin.

The game ground to a halt offensively from there, as both sides had a hit apiece the rest of the uneventful way.

Hanshin righthander Keiichi Yabu is back with the team after spending some injury time and will start on the 13th.

For Yokohama, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 0-3 and is at .266.

For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 0-3 with two strikeouts and is at .251.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

Bowers (L, 4-7)   IP 5.0 PC 68 H 5 HR 2 K 5 BB 0 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.45
Morinaka             IP 1.0 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.78
Chiba                    IP 1.0 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hata                     IP 1.0 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Hanshin:

Kawajiri (W, 5-3) IP 9.0 PC 104 H 2 HR 1 K 5 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.63

E: K. Tanaka
SB: K. Tanaka, Kataoka
HR: Furuki (1), Hiyama (11), K. Yamada (1)
RBI: Furuki, Hiyama 2, K. Yamada 2
HBP: Sekimoto (Bowers)
GIDP: Hirosawa, K. Yamada

Season Series: Yokohama 7, Hanshin 16, 1 Tie

Game Time: 2:19
Attendance: 36,000
Umpires: Sasaki (HP), Nemoto (1B), Kamimoto (2B), Kasahara (3B)

Orix Slows Down Seibu 3-2

Righthander Yuki Tanaka and the Orix Blue Wave retarded the inevitable procession to the PL pennant by the Seibu Lions Saturday at Seibu Dome, as first baseman Yuji Goshima thundered a two run homer and Tanaka held the circuit's leading offense to two runs on five hits in eight innings.

Hsu Ming-chieh started for the Lions and had an okay outing, the anemic Blue Wave order getting just two runs on five hits and five walks off of him. However, reliever Yoshihiro Doi came in for the eighth and made a crucial fielding miscue that culminated in his team's receiving an L.

Hsu walked the bases loaded in the first with two outs, but Orix leftfielder Ryota Aikawa bailed him out by popping out to second. When Seibu's turn came, they scratched a run together. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui leadoff with a walk and centerfielder Tatsuya Ozeki beat out a ground ball toward third. Somehow, Matsui got to third (wild pitch?) and scored on a sac fly to left by leftfielder Masahide Kaizuka and it was 1-0 Lions.

Seibu then got on the board again in the third, as Ozeki whizzed a one out double down the rightfield line and, one out later, first baseman Alex Cabrera singled to right to usher Ozeki in to make it 2-0 Lions.

Goshima made it a new ballgame, however, in the fourth when third baseman Scott Sheldon leadoff with a single to left and Goshima cleaned and jerked one out to rightcenter to deadlock it at 2-2.

Orix had an opportunity to break through against Hsu in the fifth when they got one out singles from Makoto Shiozaki and centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani and Goshima walked to load the bases with two outs, but Aikawa was the fall guy once more, grounding to third to kill the threat.

Things just kinda creaked along until the ninth, when Orix manager Hiromichi Ishige, impatient with his club's inability to sustain anything, resorted to the "bunt them to death" strategy and it worked. Catcher Takeshi Hidaka leadoff with a single to right and Daisuke Hayakawa ran for him. Manabu Satake laid down the sac bunt, but Doi threw wide of first and everybody was safe. Tatsuya Shindo sacrificed and this time Doi made an accurate throw to first while the runners moved up 90 feet. With Shiozaki now at the plate, Ishige called for a first pitch squeeze and Shiozaki pushed the ball toward second to drive in Hayakawa with the winning run. Reliever Jun Hagiwara spun a perfect ninth and that was the ballgame.

Tani, who celebrated the 27th birthday of his wife to be, Ryoko "Yawara" Tamura, the 2002 Sydney Olympics judo gold medalist, on the fifth, had two hits to creep past Nippon Ham first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara for the PL batting lead at .339.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .331. Third baseman Tom Evans was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .261.

For Orix, Sheldon was 1-4 with a walk and is at .263. Fernando Seguignol has been demoted to the farm.

Pitching Lines:

Orix:

Y. Tanaka (W, 3-1) IP 8.0 PC 134 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.05
J. Hagiwara (S, 6) IP 1.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.55

Seibu:

Hsu                     IP 7.0 PC 138 H 5 HR 1 K 7 BB 5 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.32
Doi (L, 1-3)        IP 1.0 PC   18 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 2.65
S. Mori               IP 1.0 PC     9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.16

SB: Ryota Aikawa
2B: Ozeki
HR: Goshima (5)
RBI: Shiozaki, Goshima 2, Kaizuka, Cabrera
SF: Kaizuka

Season Series: Orix 5, Seibu 17

Game Time: 3:02
Attendance: 23,000
Umpires: Akimura (HP), Tachibana (1B), Fujimoto (2B), Yamamoto (3B)

Yoshioka Homer Wins it in Ninth for Kintetsu

Kintetsu Buffaloes first baseman Yuji Yoshioka got all of a fastball that was up and on the inner half of the plate in the top of the ninth and propelled it over the leftfield fence to break a 2-2 tie Saturday at Fukuoka Dome, as Kintetsu snapped a four game losing skein to reclaim second place 3-2 over the Daiei Hawks.

Hisashi Iwakuma started for the Buffs and was excellent, fashioning seven innings of one run ball on four hits while striking out six and walking none, though at the end of the day, he didn't figure in the decision.

Kazumi Saito, the Hawks starter, was only slightly worse, as he was charged with two runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings, striking out eight and walking one.

Kintetsu got on the good foot in the first when rightfielder Koichi Isobe pounded one off the rightfield wall for a double to lead it off and was sacrificed to third. Leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes singled to right to push Isobe in and make it 1-0 Buffs.

Hawks catcher Kenji Johjima homered to left, his 24th of the season, though, to knot it at one all in the second.

That was the way it stayed until the seventh, when Yoshioka leadoff with a single to left and stole second. Two outs later, catcher Tetsuya Matoyama singled to right and Yoshioka sprinted in to put his nine up 2-1.

The Hawks fought back again in the eighth when Johjima singled to right, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi doubled down the leftfield line and Koji Bonishi flied out to right to allow Johjima to tag up and hit the dish and make it 2-2. Centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled to right to put the winning run at third, but Noriyoshi Omichi grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to hinder any further offensive thrusts.

Rodney Pedraza was sumoned from the bullpen to pitch the ninth for Daiei and, with one out, he tried to spot a fastball against Yoshioka on the outside corner and missed bigtime, and that was the big blow of the night.

Akinori Otsuka walked in to strikeout two of the three men he confronted for his 17th save for Kintetsu.

For Daiei, DH Pedro Valdez was 0-4 and is at .302.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 2-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .268.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Iwakuma                      IP 7.0 PC 103 H 4 HR 1 K 6 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.33
A. Okamoto                IP 0.1 PC     9 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.70
T. Yoshida (W, 2-1) IP 0.2 PC     2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.88
A.N. Otsuka (S, 17)   IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.44

Daiei:

K. Saito                IP 6.2 PC 106 H 7 HR 0 K 8 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 1.91
S. Yoshida           IP 1.1 PC   22 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.61
Pedraza (L, 1-2)   IP 1.0 PC   16 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.41

SB: Yoshioka
2B: Isobe, Iguchi,
HR: Johjima (24), Yoshioka (21)
RBI: Rhodes, Yoshioka, Matoyama, Johjima, Bonishi
SF: Bonishi
GIDP: Yoshioka, Omichi

Season Series: Kintetsu 10, Daiei 11 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:22
Attendance: 47,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Maeda (1B), Sato (2B), Sugimoto (3B)

Minchey Tosses Rain Shortened 7-0 Shutout

Chiba Lotte Marines righthander Nathan Minchey tossed a seven hit shutout in a game called after seven innings due to rain to claim a victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters at Chiba Marine Stadium Saturday, his 11th of the year. Even better, Lotte moves into fourth place for the first time this season.

Hayato Nakamura started for the Fighters and was roughed up during his 4.2 inning stint for six earned runs and is now 7-8 after his third straight defeat.

Lotte drew first blood in the second when second baseman Koichi Hori leaned into a Nakamura offering for a homer to left. Third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba doubled into the leftfield corner and catcher Masaumi Shimizu blooped a double into center and it was 2-0.

Lotte added to that in the fourth when Hatsushiba walked and Shimizu and shortstop Makoto Kosaka both singled to right to make it 3-0.

The Chiba contingent then went on a scoring binge in the fifth, as first baseman Kazuya Fukuura beat out a one out infield hit and DH Frank Bolick doubled to right. Leftfielder Derrick May grounded to second to send Fukuura in. Hori doubled to leftcenter and Bolick cruised in. Hatsushiba singled to right and Hori busted for home for a 6-0 Lotte margin.

An inning later, Lotte combined a one out single to center by Kenji Morozumi, Saburo Omura being hit by a pitch, and a double to rightcenter by Fukuura that drove in Morozumi to make it 7-0.

With one out and two on in the seventh for Lotte, the rain was more than the umpires deemed safe to play in and it went into the books as a called game.

Hori has half of his 12 homers against Nippon Ham.

Nippon Ham third baseman Yukio Tanaka singled in the second to reach 3000 career bases, the 36th man in Japanese history to have done so.

For Nippon Ham, DH Sherman Obando was1-2 with a walk and is at .273. Leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 0-3 and is at .262.

For Lotte, Bolick was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .220. May was 0-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .255.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

H. Nakamura (L, 7-8) IP 4.2 PC 96 H 9 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 4.17
Muto IP 0.2 PC 13 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.66
Sasaki IP 1.0 PC 32 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.14

Lotte:

Minchey (W, 11-13) IP 7.0 PC 124 H 7 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.01

2B: Fukuura 2, Hatsushiba, Masaumi Shimizu 2, Bolick, Hori, Obando, Arai,
HR: Hori (12)
RBI: Fukuura, May, Hori 2, Hatsushiba, Masaumi Shimizu, Kosaka
HBP: S. Omura (Muto), Ken Tanaka (Minchey)

Season Series: Nippon Ham 7, Lotte 14

Game Time: 2:42
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Hirabayashi (HP), Yanagida (1B), Nakamura (2B), Kawaguchi (3B)

Japanese Baseball and MLB

There was an interesting article a few months back in TIME Magazine's Asia edition about players leaving Japan for MLB that's well worth looking at: http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501020715-300682-1,00.html

Japanese Baseball Rues Brawn Drain

See Christian Science Monitory story at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0828/p01s03-woap.htm

College Hurler Throws Second Consecutive No Hitter

Sendai University lefthander Wataru Sato threw his second consecutive no hitter Saturday, the first time ever in Sendai Big Six University League play that has occurred. Taking the punishment in this one was Tohoku University, who saw Sato strikeout 15 of their hitters in the 118 pitch no no, the only baserunners by Tohoku coming on a pair of walks.

Sato throws in the mid-80's and was able to spot his slider on the outside corner consistently. This was the third no hitter of his college career, which is amazing considering that he is just the tenth man to do that in league annals and that there were just 14 such performances overall.

This past September 2nd, the diminutive (5'7" 147 pounds) Miyagi Prefecture native tossed a no hitter at Tohoku Industrial University.

Got Some Opinions About Japanese Pro Baseball?

Sports Nippon's Osaka edition is soliciting mail from Japanese pro baseball fans about their thoughts on the subject. Anything goes, whether its opinions about players, managers, the way the sport is run, or anything else. The tone can be either positive or negative. It would help if you can write in Japanese, but even if you can't, they might be interested in what foreign english speaking fans think. The address is: yakyuu@sponichi.com

Tell 'em Baseball Guru.com sent you.

Farming Players in the Dominican Republic

The off topic article of the day, this is a revealing look at the environment that is rasing so many incredible Dominican players. See Christian Science Monitor story at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0325/p01s04-ussc.html

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 7th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1961, an argument that resulted from a call made by an umpire in a game between the Kokutetsu Swallows and Yomiuri Giants at Korakuen Stadium, went on for two hours, leading to the game not concluding until eleven minutes past midnight. This was the first time ever that one game had been played across two calendar days.

Also on that date in 1966, the Chunichi Dragons number two draft choice, a pitcher named Takai, was found out to have not dropped out of university after all, but still attending it and thus the draft pick was nullified. He later ended up with the Sankei Atoms and the only stats I can find for him are playing in one lifetime game with an ERA of 108.00.

September 6, 2002

Daiei's Surge, Kintetsu's Slump Results in Tie for Second

The Kintetsu Buffaloes dropped their fourth in a row Friday, as Daiei Hawks starter Junji Hoshino outpitched Jeremy Powell to elevate his side into a second place tie with the Osaka squad. It also reduced the Seibu Lions magic number to clinch the Pacific League pennant to 13. In addition, there is some important news regarding Hawks second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who homered for his third game in a row in this one.

The Buffs got off to an immediate lead when rightfielder Koichi Isobe leadoff the game with a drive into the rightfield seats to put Kintetsu up 1-0. Hoshino then issued a one out walk to leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes, who then stole second, and a two out RBI single to center from DH Kenshi Kawaguchi for a second tally, the scoreboard reading 2-0 Kintetsu after a half an inning.

Daiei made up the difference, however, in the third, when Powell walked catcher Kenji Johjima with one away and Iguchi then flattened a Powell pitch and buried it in the centerfield bleachers to knot it at 2-2.

Hoshino hit a man and then walked the next one before he got Buffs third baseman Norihiro Nakamura to pop to short and Kawaguchi to fly to right to avert disaster there. Meanwhile, Daiei surged out to their first lead of the night. Johjima leadoff the inning with a single to right and, one out later, shortstop Yusuke Torigoe got him over to third with a single to the righthand side as well. Centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara grounded to second and Johjima crossed to put the Hawks ahead 3-2.

In the fifth, Hoshino got himself into more hot water when he plunked catcher Tetsuya Matoyama to begin the frame and Isobe singled to right. Second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi squared around to sacrifice and missed on the ball. Matoyama, who was at second, had begun cheating toward third when the pitch was made. Johjima gunned it to Iguchi, who initiated a rundown, and the slow footed Matoyama was dead. Mizuguchi bounced to the mound for the second out, but Hoshino then intentionally walked Rhodes, who was the winning run. Hoshino, though, escaped again when he fanned Nakamura. Hawks manager Sadaharu Oh, having had enough of Hoshino's penchant for drama, then went to the pen to keep the Buffs relatively quiet the rest of the match.

Daiei then hit Powell up again in the sixth, as Iguchi singled to center, stole second, and went to third on a sac bunt. Shibahara singled to center and Iguchi trotted in to make it 4-2 Hawks. Leftfielder Arihito Muramatsu flew to deep left to allow Shibahara to tag and hustle into second and then motored in on a single to right from rightfielder Yudai Deguchi and it was 5-2 for the bird of prey.

Katsunori Okamoto worked a perfect ninth to close it out for Daiei for his third save.

Iguchi would have asked to be posted this winter had he not had such a down year and also needed surgery, so he will reportedly fly the coop after 2003. It will be interesting to see how he does.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 0-1 with three walks and a steal and is at .265.

For Daiei, Valdez was 1-4 and is at .305.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Powell (L, 13-8) IP 6.0 PC 118 H 9 HR 1 K 5 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.90
S. Yamamoto      IP 1.0 PC   19 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.80
Kadokura           IP 0.2 PC   12 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.03
T. Yoshida         IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.93

Daiei:

J. Hoshino (W, 8-7) IP 5.0 PC 89 H 4 HR 1 K 3 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.52
Shinohara IP 2.1 PC 36 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.75
K. Okamoto (S, 3) IP 1.2 PC 28 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.55

SB: Rhodes, Moritani, Iguchi
2B: Deguchi
HR: Isobe (), Iguchi (),
RBI: Isobe, Kawaguchi, Deguchi, Iguchi 2, Shibahara 2
IBB: Rhodes (J. Hoshino)
HBP: Mizuguchi (J. Hoshino), Kokubo (Powell), Matoyama (J. Hoshino)

Season Series: Kintetsu 9, Daiei 11 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:19
Attendance: 45,000
Umpires: Nagami (HP), Sato (1B), Sugimoto (2B), Yamamura (3B)

Park Shuts Dowm LG to Keep Doosan Playoff Hopes Alive in KBO

See Korea Times article at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090617484947110.htm

Playoff Race Heats Up in Taiwan Major League

See Taipei Times article at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/07/story/0000167234

September 5, 2002

Cabrera Hammers Two More in 7-6 Seibu Victory

Seibu Lions slugger Alex Cabrera is injecting a little more spice into this season's schedule, as he slammed two more homers Thursday at Tokyo Dome against the Nippon Ham Fighters to put himself on a pace for 58, which would surpass the Japanese record of 55 held jointly by Sadaharu Oh and Tuffy Rhodes, in the Tokorozawa contingent's 7-6 victory. Seibu managed to prevail despite the fact that starter Mitsutaka Goto was roundly fried for six runs in three innings, but reliever Koji Mitsui then came ijn and restored order with four innings of one hit ball to cull his seventh win of the year.

Akio Shimizu started for Nippon Ham and was pretty generous to the Lions lineup himself, as he was shaken down for four runs on five hits in four innings. Tomokzai Iba then was touched for two runs in the sixth and Yoshinori Tateyama for a tally in the eighth on two hits a and a hit batter to get hung with the defeat.

Cabrera got Seibu in front in the second inning when he walked to lead it off and went to second on a groundout. Centerfielder Shogo Akada then turned him in for a 1-0 lead with a single to center.

Nippon Ham third baseman Yukio Tanaka, however, restored equiliburium when he powdered a Goto pitch over the rightcenterfield wall to make it 1-1 in the bottom of the same stanza.

An inning later, the Fighters punched Goto's lights out. With one down, both second baseman Ken Tanaka and centerfielder Tsutomu Ishimoto singled to center. One out later, first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara walked to pack the sacks. DH Sherman Obando then got a fastball that was up and out over the middle of the plate and punished it well into the leftfield seats for a grand slam and a 5-1 Nippon Ham advantage. The next man up, leftfielder D.T. Cromer, then got real gone to right and it was 6-1 home team.

Cabrera responded by goosing a changeup down and away into the first row of the rightfield bleachers to cut the deficit to 6-2. Leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada doubled down the leftfield line and went to third on a groundout. Third baseman Tom Evans then did his job and flew to right deep enough to allow Wada, bad knee and all, to hustle home and make it relatively close again at 6-3.

In the fifth, Seibu second baseman Hiroshi Hirao leadoff with a triple to center and Shimizu was toast, Pat Flury brought in to replace him. One out later, rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki flew to left and Hirao tagged and busted for home to make it 6-4 Fighters.

Cabrera then leadoff again in the sixth by crushing an Iba forkball more than 400 feet into the leftcenterfield stands to make it a one run ballgame. Wada then dropped into the gap, rightcenter, that is, and lumbered around to third. One out later, Evans smacked an RBI single to left and it was knotted at six apiece.

The Lions took a breather in the seventh and then got small for the game winner in the eighth. With one away, backup rightfielder Tetsuya Kakiuchi mashed one off the centerfield wall for a long single and went to second on a sac bunt. Tateyama nailed pinch hitter Kaizuka with a delivery. Hirao then found a hole back up the middle and Kakuchi scored without a play to put the Lions ahead 7-6. Seibu closer Kiyoshi Toyoda then worked a scoreless ninth to move the Lions magic number to 14.

For Nippon Ham, Obando was 1-4 with four RBIs and is at .272. Cromer was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .264.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-3 with two walks and two RBIs and is at .331. Yes, he is a Triple Crown threat now. It is also the seventh multi-homer game for him in 2002. Evans was 1-2 with two RBIs and is at .267.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

M. Goto                 IP 3.0 PC 59 H 5 HR 3 K 3 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 2.83
Mitsui (W, 7-1)    IP 4.0 PC 64 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.98
S. Mori                  IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.19
Toyoda (S, 28)     IP 1.0 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.97

Nippon Ham:

A. Shimizu             IP 4.0 PC 59 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 5.35
Flury                       IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Iba                          IP 1.0 PC 25 H 3 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.01
Shimoyanagi         IP 0.2 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.92
Tateyama (L, 2-2) IP 1.2 PC 38 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.58
Shibakusa             IP 0.2 PC   5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.20

E: M. Ogasawara
2B: Wada, Ozeki
3B: Hirao, Wada
HR: Y. Tanaka (13), Obando (24), Cromer (19), Cabrera 2 (47)
RBI: Ozeki, Cabrera 2, Akada, Evans 2, Hirao, Obando 4, Cromer, Y. Tanaka
SF: Evans, Ozeki
IBB: Cabrera
HBP: Kaizuka (Tateyama)

Season Series: Seibu 14, Nippon Ham 10

Game Time: 3:36
Attendance: 14,000
Umpires: Sakaemura (HP), Nakamura (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Tachibana (3B)

Hodges Beats Giants for Fifth Time This Season 4-3

Yakult Swallows starter told reporters Thursday after the end of what was a must win for his team that he felt lucky to get a victory when Shugo Fujii also gave up three runs the night before and took a loss. The Yomiuri Giants have indeed done a much better job against the big ex-Mariners righty in his last couple of starts after being utterly befuddled by him the first four times he took the hill to face them. The Texas native went six innings and permitted seven hits and walked four while striking out just one, so he wasn't sharp to be sure. But Yakult scored three in the fifth to tie at least partially due to Giants centerfielder Hideki Matsui getting fooled by a hooking scorcher off the bat of first baseman Roberto Petagine and then struck for a single run in the seventh to win it 4-3. Setup man Hirotoshi Ishii and closer Shingo Takatsu combined to no hit the opposition over the final three frames to make the triumph possible.

Hodges appeared to be really rocky in the first, as he saw Yomiuri leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu leadoff with a single to center, but then shortstop Tomohiro Nioka grounded into a 6-4-3 twin killing. That turned out to be very timely for Hodges, since catcher Shinnosuke Abe then drilled a shot off the centerfield fence for a double. Matsui walked. Takayuki Saito legged out a ground ball to load the bases. However, Daisuke Motoki flied out and Hodges escaped by the skin of his teeth.

The Giants then did dent Hodges in the second, when second baseman Toshihisa Nishi laced a double to leftcenter and then stole third. Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi grounded to Akinori Iwamura at third, who threw home to attempt to nail the speedy Nishi, who was ruled safe and it was 1-0 Yomiuri.

In the third, the Giants added on when Matsui doubled into the rightfield corner and Saito walked. Motoki then brought them in with a gift triple thanks to a bad fielding play by Alex Ramirez and Yomiuri had a 3-0 edge. Hodges, though, managed to strand Motoki.

But a misjudgment by Matsui in the fifth got the Swallows back into the game. Centerfielder Tetsuya Iida singled to center with one out to kick the rally off. One out later, rightfielder Shinichi Sato also went back up the center of the diamond for a knock. Petagine then beat the daylights out of a slider from Giants starter Hisanori Takahashi. Matsui charged in trying to make a diving catch on the line drive, but the ball was hooking and easily eluded his grasp, rolling all the way to the wall as Iida and Sato crossed and Petagine made it to third. Ramirez singled to center and now it was tied at three all.

In the seventh, Petagine flamed a pitch from Giants reliever Daisuke Kawamoto over the head of Matsui for a double with one down and then came around on an RBI single to right by Ramirez and now it was a matter of holding on to a 4-3 lead for Yakult. Ishii, though, delivered by fanning five of the seven men he encountered and Takatsu, though he walked two with two outs, locked it up in the ninth.

With his fifth victory this year against the Giants, Hodges is the fourth foreigner to do that, the others being Matt Keough and Gene Bacque of Hanshin and Terry Bross of Yakult. Moreover, he now has 15 wins to set a new team record for single season shiroboshi by a non-Japanese, which was previously held by Bross in 1995. You can see a pic of Hodges from this game at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200209/image/02090601hojisuNK199905_b.jpg

For Yakult, Petagine was 2-3 with two RBIs and two walks and is at .334. Ramirez was 2-5 with two RBIs and is at .305.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Hodges (W, 15-5)   IP 6.0 PC 115 H 7 HR 0 K 1 BB 4 R 3 ER 2 ERA 3.01
H. Ishii                     IP 2.0 PC   31 H 0 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.64
Takatsu (S, 28)       IP 1.0 PC   18 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.31

Yomiuri:

H. Takahashi           IP 5.2 PC 114 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 4 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.10
J. Sakai                     IP 0.1 PC     6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.70
Kawamoto (L, 3-1) IP 0.2 PC   17 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.70
Almonte                   IP 1.1 PC   33 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08
Okajima                    IP 1.0 PC   11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.65

E: Ramirez, Iwamura, Motoki
SB: Nishi
2B: S. Abe, Nishi, H. Matsui, Petagine
3B: Motoki, Petagine
RBI: Petagine 2, Ramirez 2, Motoki 2
IBB: Nishi
HBP: T. Shimizu (Hodges)
GIDP: Nioka, Motoki, Ramirez

Season Series: Yakult 10, Yomiuri 14

Game Time: 3:49
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Kamimoto (1B), Kasahara (2B), Sasaki (3B)

Hanshin Stagnant in 6-3 Loss to Hiroshima

The Hiroshima Carp came back from being behind 3-2 to grab a pair of runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings from a lifeless Hanshin Tigers ballclub Thursday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium to take it 6-3. Hanshin starter Kyuji Fujikawa remained winless for his career when he couldn't get anyone out in the fifth to start the slide toward another Tigers defeat.

Hiroshima went out to a 1-0 lead in the first when shortstop Akihiro Higashide doubled to rightcenter and centerfielder Koichi Ogata slaughtered a 2-2 forkball on the outer half of the plate for a similar two bagger to drive Higashide in.

In the second, Carp rookie Kurihara jumped on a second pitch breaking ball from Fujikawa and lifted it into the centerfield seats for his first pro homer in six career at bats and it was 2-0 Hiroshima.

Hanshin evened it in the third, as centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to right with two outs and stole second, shortstop Shuta Tanaka made it to first after he whiffed on strike three, the ball getting by Carp catcher Shuji Nishiyama. Akahoshi somehow managed to score, maybe on a subsequent wild pitch. Third baseman Atsushi Kataoka singled to center and Tanaka galloped in and it was 2-2 deadlock.

The Tigers Koji Hirashita then gave his side a temporary lead in the fourth when he went yard to right for his third dinger of the season and it was 3-2.

Fujikawa, though, degenerated into little more than a batting practice pitcher in the fifth, though he got into hot water by first plunking Ogata on an 0-2 delivery. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto and rightfielder Tomonori Maeda then rammed fastballs to right and Ogata motored in to level it at 3-3. Takahiro Arai then tattooed a slider to center to recall Kanemoto and the Carp were holding a 4-3 advantage and Fujikawa was having a shower.

Shinji Taninaka came on to throw the sixth for Hanshin and only worsened things. Kenjiro Nomura leadoff with a single to left and Takuya Kimura was hit with a pitch. Both men were sacrificed along. Ogata walked to jam the basepaths. Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino then dialed local to the bullpen and Makoto Yoshino spelled Taninaka. Kanemoto singled to center and Nomura and Kimura made beelines for the plate and it was 6-3 Carp. Hanshin amassed a mere two hits over the last three innings and it was soon over.

For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 1-4 and is at .253. Greg Hansell saw his first action of the season and he struckout two of three men he faced. Not bad for a guy who had surgery just a few weeks ago.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Fujikawa (L, 0-3) IP 4.1 PC 102 H 8 HR 1 K 7 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.59
Taninaka               IP 1.0 PC   21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.46
Yoshino                IP 0.2 PC   14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.04
Hansell                  IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00
M. Valdez              IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.40

Hiroshima:

Tsuruta (W, 4-5)     IP 5.0 PC 92 H 4 HR 1 K 5 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.77
Tamaki                      IP 1.0 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.55
K. Kobayashi          IP 2.0 PC 30 H 3 BB 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.31
Oyamada (S, 26)      IP 1.0 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.00

E: Kurihara
SB: Akahoshi
2B: Higashide, Ogata, Kanemoto, Arias
HR: Kurihara (1), Hirashita (3)
RBI: Kataoka, Hirashita, Ogata, Kanemoto 2, T. Maeda, Arai, Kurihara
HBP: Ogata (Fujikawa), T. Kimura (Taninaka), Arai (Yoshino)
GIDP: Hirashita, T. Maeda

Season Series: Hanshin 12, Hiroshima 12

Game Time: 3:28
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Manabe (HP), Nishimoto (1B), Kittaka (2B), Watada (3B)

Guzman Three Hits Dragons 4-1

Inducing 15 ground ball outs, Domingo Guzman continues his remarkable metamorphisis from inept reliever to dazzling starter, as he picked up his third victory Thursday at Yokohama Stadium with a dominating three hit, one run effort to help the Yokohama Bay Stars beat the Chunichi Dragons 4-1. Martin Vargas went out and started this one after getting news that one of his children is very ill and didn't fare too well, absorbing his fourth loss in the aftermath of surrendering four runs on six hits in five innings.

Yokohama scratched out a run in the third when catcher Takeshi Nakamura walked and was sacrificed to second. After moving up on a ground ball to the right side, Kazunori Tanaka singled to right for the 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, Vargas hung a slider to Boi Rodrigues, who mortared it into the rightfield stands for his first homer in 31 games and it was 2-0 Yokohama.

The Stars then doubled that advantage in the fifth when Nakamura beat out a little bouncer toward short, shortstop Takuro Ishii ripped a double to leftcenter one out later and, following another out, second baseman Hitoshi Taneda played jai lai with the leftfield wall for a loud single to see in both Ishii and Nakamura and Guzman was cruising at 4-0.

The sole Dragons run came in the seventh, when rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome broke up the shutout with a drive into the leftfield seats to make it 4-1 Yokohama. That was the last offense of the game and Guzman, who was clocked at a high of 93mph, retired the final nine men in a row to put it in the refrigerator. At two hours and 14 minutes, this was the shortest game of the year in the Central League.

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .268.

For Chunichi, Scott Bullet was 0-1 in pinch hitting duty and is at .206.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Vargas (L, 2-4)    IP 5.0 PC 77 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.33
T. Ogasawara     IP 2.0 PC 33 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.15
Yamai                   IP 1.0 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.00

Yokohama:

Guzman (W, 3-3) IP 9.0 PC 103 H 3 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.40

2B: Fukudome, T. Ishii
HR: Rodrigues (15), Fukudome (15)
RBI: Fukudome, K.N. Tanaka, Taneda 2, Rodrigues
IBB: T. Nakamura
GIDP: Morino, Ibata, Rodrigues

Season Series: Chunichi 15, Yokohama 8

Game Time: 2:14
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Yoshimoto (HP), Mori (1B), Tomoyori (2B), Arisumi (3B)

Rath Wins 15th in Ending Hyundai Winning Streak in KBO Action

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090517532447110.htm

Catcher Wu Blocks Whales Comeback Attempt in Taiwan Action

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/06/story/0000167102

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 5th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1962, Kokutetsu Swallows hurler Masaichi Kaneda rung up his 3,509th hitter on strikes, which at the time was a world record.

Also on that date in 1974, the police arrested the main perpetrators of a ring that was printing counterfeit tickets to games at Heiwadai Stadium and APBs were put out for two others.

Also on that date in 1977, Sadaharu Oh received the first People's Honor Award. Incidently, Ichiro turned it down when talk of him receiving it after last season was going around.

September 4, 2002

Kuwata Four Hits Yakult 3-1

Veteran righty Masumi Kuwata fashioned his first complete game in three years Wednesday at Osaka Dome, where he held the Yakult Swallows to one run on four hits in a 3-1 Yomiuri Giants victory. In addition, centerfielder Hideki Matsui, who was named Central League Player of the Month for August, expanded his advantage in the homer race against Swallows first baseman Roberto Petagine when he tagged a Shugo Fujii hanging slider 440 feet in the second inning. It was Yakult's third straight loss in the wake of its 11 game winning spree, blunting somewhat its hopes for catching the Giants at the last minute.

Fujii, Yakult's number one starter, was roughed up for ten hits and all three runs in five innings to take his seventh loss. Kuwata, with his ninth win, his fifth in a row, could get into double figures in that category for the first time in four seasons and maybe even bag his first ERA title in 15 campaigns if he can pitch well through the finish of the schedule.

Matsui leadoff the second with his 41st longball of 2002 (and his 11th off of Yakult in the same period), marking the 12th time this year that he has gone yard in his first at bat in a game, none of those coming in the second half. He has now homered in each of his last eight series, tying a personal best. Five of those jacks are against Fujii and 23 are since the all star break. The Giants then went on to load the bases on two walks and a single, but Kuwata bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to turn any further scoring to dust, the inning ending with the Giants in front 1-0. You can see a pic of Matsui's swing on the belt at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200209/image/02090502matuiNK212904_b.jpg

The Giants then built on that in the fourth, as first baseman Akira Etoh singled to left and second baseman Toshihisa Nishi doubled down the leftfield line. Two outs later, leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to center and both Etoh and Nishi crossed to make it 3-0.

In the fifth, Yomiuri threatened again when Matsui leadoff with a single to center and third baseman Daisuke Motoki singled to right. Both men were moved up on a sac bunt. With Nishi up and the count 1-1, manager Tatsunori Hara called for the squeeze. But Nishi missed the ball and Yakult catcher Atsuya Furuta, making his first start in six games, started a rundown and Matsui was meat. Nishi then flew out to end the inning.

Yomiuri blew another opportunity in the sixth, as pinch hitter Takayuki Saito doubled to rightcenter and went to third on a sac bunt. With the infield up, Shimizu grounded to first and Saito held at third. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka struckout and that was all she wrote.

Ryota Igarashi was summoned to pitch the eighth for Yakult and struckout the side. Second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi then leadoff the top of the ninth with a drive into the leftfield stands and things were looking up for the Swallows. But Kuwata then sunk everything to the next three hitters and they obliged by hitting weak ground balls to snuff out any incipient revolt.

For Yakult, first baseman Roberto Petagine was 0-3 with two strikeouts and is at .332. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 1-3 and is at .304.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

S. Fujii (L, 9-7)     IP 5.0 PC 101 H 10 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.93
Kawabata            IP 0.1 PC      6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.29
H. Ishii                 IP 1.2 PC    31 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.69
R. Igarashi           IP 1.0 PC    10 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.01

Yomiuri:

Kuwata (W, 9-6) IP 9.0 PC 110 H 4 HR 1 K 7 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.41

2B: S. Miyamoto, Inaba, Nishi, Takayuki Saito, H. Matsui
HR: H. Matsui (41), Dobashi (1)
RBI: Dobashi, T. Shimizu, H. Matsui
GIDP: Iwamura, Kuwata, Furuta

Season Series: Yakult 9, Yomiuri 14

Game Time: 3:00
Attendance:48,000
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), Kasahara (1B), Sasaki (2B), Ino (3B)

Maeda Two Run Homer Sinks Hanshin 4-1

Hanshin Tigers starter Kei Igawa didn't get the location he wanted on two fastballs in the fourth inning against the Hiroshima Carp at the latter's homeground Wednesday and paid for it with two big hits and the fifth consecutive loss the team has suffered when Igawa has begun the game on the mound by a 4-1 score. Shinji Sasaoka, who racked up his 1500th lifetime strikeout in the eighth, was credited with his sixth victory thanks to eight outstanding innings of four hit, one unearned run, ball.

Hanshin was the beneficiary of some terrible defensive play in the third when Kentaro Sekimoto grounded to Higashide, who geeked it for an error. One out later, Sekimoto advanced on a sac bunt. Second baseman Makoto Imaoka then lofted a fly ball to center and Ogata just flat out missed it for a two base error and a 1-0 Hanshin lead.

So let's now go to that fateful fourth and see what happened. With one down, shortstop Akihiro Higashide walked. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata then got a fastball on the inner half of the plate and he clocked it down the leftfield line for a double. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto doubled to rightcenter to plate both runners for a 2-0 lead. Igawa then threw an 88mph fastball right down main street to rightfielder Tomonori Maeda and the stoic veteran punished it, lining it deep into the centerfield seats to make it 4-1 Carp.

Hanshin mustered just two hits over the final five innings. Sasaoka struckout third baseman Atsushi Kataoka on a curve ball in the eighth for the milestone whiff and then passed the ball to closer Yasuhiro Oyamada, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth to save it.

For Hanshin, first baseman George Arias was 1-4 and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Igawa (L, 11-7) IP 6.0 PC 101 H 7 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.31
Date IP 2.0 PC 29 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.14

Hiroshima:

Sasaoka (W,6-7) IP 8.0 PC 127 H 4 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 1 ER 0 ERA 3.43
Oyamada (S, 25) IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.06

E: Higashide, Ogata
SB: Ogata
2B: Hiyama, Ogata, Kanemoto, Sekimoto
HR: T. Maeda (17)
RBI: Maeda 2, Kanemoto 2
HBP: Imaoka (Sasaoka)
GIDP: Kataoka, Ogata, Arai,

Season Series: Hanshin 12, Hiroshima 11

Game Time: 2:44
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Tani (HP), Kittaka (1B), Watada (2B), Manabe (3B)

Back to Back Obando and Cromer Homers Blast Seibu 6-1

Nippon Ham Fighters DH Sherman Obando pounded a three run homer in the third inning of a faceoff Wednesday at Tokyo Dome against the Seibu Lions, his first circuit clout in nine games and teammate D.T. Cromer piggybacked on that by dialing Ibaraki 6-5000 himself, to support Itsuki Shoda's 8.1 innings of one run pitching in the Fighters 6-1 victory. The Lions magic number remains at 15.

Nippon Ham manufactured a run due to the quick feet of centerfielder Tsutomu Ishimoto in the first, as he singled to left, stole second, went to third on a sac bunt and then came home on a two out single to right by Obando to make it 1-0.

In the third, Seibu starter Fumiya Nishiguchi, who hasn't won a game at Tokyo Dome in six years, really went "boroboro (fell apart)," as the Japanese would say and that was the ballgame. With one away, Ishimoto walked and stole second. One out later, first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara walked. Obando then went midieval on a fastball and nailed it well beyond the leftcenterfield wall and it was 4-0 Fighters. Cromer then exited to the righthand side to raise that to 5-0.

Seibu registered its lone run in the sixth when first baseman Alex Cabrera went up sitting on a curve ball from Shoda and really tore into one thsat was down and away, unleashing a cruise missile that landed 425 feet away in the leftcenterfield seats. He is now on pace for 57 homers.

But Ishimoto would return to haunt Seibu again, this time in the seventh, when he tripled into the rightfield corner and scooted home on a subsequent single to center by shortstop Hiroshi Narahara to cap off the night's scoring at 6-1.

In the ninth, Shoda attempted to finish it himself, but he was too tired for the task. DH Kazuhiro Wada leadoff with a single to center. One out later, third baseman Hiroshi Hirao legged out a tapper toward third. Shoda then nailed catcher Satoshi Nakajima to jam the basepaths. Yoshinori Tateyama was called in from the bullpen by manager Yasunori Oshima and induced flyouts to left from pinch hitter Tom Evans and shortstop Kazuo Matsui to put it in the books.

To quantify Nishiguchi's troubles in Suidobashi a little more, he is 0-4 in his last eight starts there with an ERA of 5.82.

For Nippon Ham, Obando was 2-3 with a walk and four RBIs and is at .272. Cromer was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .264.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .329. Evans was 0-1 and is at .264.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Nishiguchi (L, 13-7) IP 7.0 PC 125 H 8 HR 2 K 7 BB 3 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.28
Mizuo IP 1.0 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.82

Nippon Ham:

Shoda (W, 5-9) IP 8.1 PC 121 H 9 HR 1 K 4 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.41
Tateyama (S, 2) IP 0.2 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.47

SB: Ishimoto 2
3B: Ishimoto
HR: Obando (23), Cromer (18), Cabrera (41)
RBI: Cabrera, Narahara, Obando 4, Cromer
HBP: Nakajima (Shoda)

Season Series: Seibu 13, Nippon Ham 10

Game Time: 2:38
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Kawaguchi (HP), Akimura (1B), Yamamoto (2B), Yanagida (3B)

Okoshi, Iguchi Combine to Down Orix 6-2

Daiei Hawks rightfielder Motoi Okoshi drove in three runs and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi slugged a two run homer to spearhead the Fukuoka contingent's 6-2 victory over the Orix Blue Wave Wednesday at Kobe Green Stadium.Akio Mizuta, starting in place of Brady Raggio, who was suspended earlier for eight games for bumping an umpire, notched his first win in three years in his season debut at the big club level. Mind you, it wasn't the most artistic performance, as he walked five, but Orix squeezed out just three hits in Mizuta's five shutout innings at the center of the diamond.

Masahiko Kaneda started for Orix and battled for four shutout innings before being hit up in the fifth. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to center and went to second on a groundout. One out later, Iguchi's bat conducted a rendition of "Over the Hills and Far Away" in the centerfield seats for a 2-0 Hawks lead. Shortstop Yusuke Torigoe singled to left and centerfielder Yudai Deguchi singled to center. Okoshi singled to left to drive in Torigoe to make it 3-0.

In the seventh, Daiei got busy again when Torigoe and Deguchi both singled to center and were sacrificed along. DH Pedro Valdez was intentionally walked to set up a force at every base. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo then flew to center to get Torigoe across and it was 4-0.

The following inning, rookie Atsushi Kubota came out to make his pro debut and he was rudely received. With one away, leftfielder Arihito Muramatsu and Iguchi singled to left. Torigoe walked to load the bases. One out later, Okoshi doubled to leftcenter to convert Muramatsu and Deguchi for a 6-0 Hawks advantage.

Orix then put a pair on the board in their ups against reliever Katsunori Okamoto when centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani and Scott Sheldon each singled to right. First baseman Yuji Goshima walked to juice the bags and DH Manabu Satake also waited one out to force in Tani. Shuji Yoshida entered the game and struckout rightfielder Ryota Aikawa. Catcher Takeshi Hidaka grounded to second and Sheldon was in the dugout to make it 6-2. Leftfielder Daisuke Hayakawa then flied out to end the inning. Yoshida then went on to retire three of four batters in the ninth to put a death grip on the W.

For Daiei, Valdez was 0-4 with a walk and is at .306.

For Orix, Sheldon was 2-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .263.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Mizuta (W, 1-0)       IP 5.0 PC 101 H 3 HR 0 K 5 BB 5 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Shinohara                IP 1.2 PC    20 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.93
K. Okamoto             IP 0.1 PC   26 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 1.62
S. Yoshida (S, 3)     IP 2.0 PC   25 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.67

Orix:

Kaneda (L, 4-9)      IP 5.2 PC 102 H 8 HR 1 K 4 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.44
Kawagoe                IP 1.0 PC   24 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.93
T. Yamamoto         IP 0.1 PC     2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Kubota                   IP 0.2 PC   25 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 27.00
Kase                       IP 0.1 PC     3 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.60
Aiki                         IP 1.0 PC   10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.01

E: Sheldon
2B: Okoshi
HR: Iguchi (17)
RBI: Satake, Hidaka, Okoshi 3, Iguchi 2, Kokubo
SF: Kokubo
IBB: P. Valdez
GIDP: Hayakawa

Season Series: Daiei 12, Orix 11

Game Time: 3:40
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Kaneda (HP), Higashi (1B), Kakigizono (2B), Hayashi (3B)

Onishi Two Run Jack in 12th Gets Dragons Past Yokohama 3-1

For the second night in a row, Takayuki Onishi, who is normally a bench player, supplied the game winning hit, as the Chunichi Dragons edged the Yokohama Bay Stars Wednesday at Yokohama Stadium in 12 innings 3-1. The loss in this one by the Stars had to be particularly frustrating for starter Chris Holt, who went ten excellent innings of one run ball on five hits, striking out 12 while walking nobody in a no decision. Instead, in a rather ironic twist of fate, Dragons reliever Daisuke Yamai threw to just one hitter and picked up the victory, his fifth of the season.

Makoto Kito started for the party from Nagoya and he lasted a compartatively brief 5.1 innings, permitting one run on five hits to also emerge with no decision.

Holt got off to an inauspicious beginning, as the Dragons used a leadoff single by centerfielder Koichi Sekikawa, a sac bunt, and a double into the leftfield corner from rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome to pop out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

Kito kept Yokohama in check by scattering three hits over the initial five innings, but then almost completely lost it in the sixth. Shortstop Takuro Ishii leadoff with a single to center and went to second on a sacrifice. Second baseman Hitoshi Taneda then almost left the building, pinging a shot off the centerfield wall for an RBI double to see Kito out of the game and level it at one all.

From that point until the 11th, when the Dragons put a couple of men on walks with one out, both offenses were bogged down by some fine relief pitching. The last two men of the Chunichi 11th made routine outs to shutdown that uprising, but Yokohama mounted its biggest threat of the contest in its turn when Taneda leadoff with an infield hit, leftfielder Takanori Suzuki singled to right and first baseman Hirofumi Ogawa was intentionally walked to load the bases. Rightfielder Boi Rodrigues stepped up and plopped a grounder right to Kazuyoshi Tatsunami at third, who turned the 5-2-3 double play. Takashi Manei then struckout to add more gray hair to manager Masaaki Mori's head.

The Dragons then put together two hits to prevail in the 12th. With a man gone, catcher Motonobu Tanishige singled to right. One out later, Onishi cranked his fourth career homer and his first in two years to left to make it 3-1 Chunichi.

Eddie Gaillard was assigned the responsibility of preserving the triumph and he ended up being out there for 19 pitches, but he was touched for a lone single before inducing a groundout to second from backup centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo for the final out. The Stars are now 1-9-2 in extra inning games.

For Chunichi, Scott Bullet was 0-1 in a pinch hitting appearance and is at .207.

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 1-5 and is at .267.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Kito                          IP 5.1 PC 72 H 5 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.86
Yamakita                  IP 1.0 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.47
Endo                        IP 2.2 PC 37 H 1 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.26
Ochiai                      IP 1.0 PC 18 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.03
T. Ogasawara         IP 0.2 PC   1 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.25
Yamai (W, 5-2)       IP 0.1 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.05
Gaillard (S, 28)        IP 1.0 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.60

Yokohama:

Holt                            IP 10.0 PC 133 H 5 HR 0 K 12 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.44
T. Saito                      IP 1.0 PC    15 H 0 HR 0 K   0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.03
R. Kawahara             IP 0.1 PC      5 H 0 HR 0 K   0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.95
Yokoyama (L, 1-2)   IP 0.2 PC    13 H 2 HR 1 K   2 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.38

2B: Fukudome, T. Ishii, Taneda,
HR: Onishi (1)
RBI: Fukudome, Onishi 2, Taneda
IBB: Ogawa
GIDP: Onishi, Rodrigues

Season Series: Chunichi 15, Yokohama 7

Game Time: 3:54
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: ? (HP), Tomoyori (1B), Arisumi (2B), Yoshimoto (3B)

When is the Umpiring in Japan Going to Improve?

See article by the Yomiuri Shimbun's Jim Allen at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020905wo54.htm

Sexual Harrassment in Japanese Sports

See Asahi Shimbun article at: http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002090500319.html

Pair of Songs Hit Sweet Notes for Hanwha in KBO Action

See Koresa Times article at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090417305847110.htm

Muto Scatters Nine Hits in 7-1 Taichung Win in Taiwan Action

See Taipei Times article at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/05/story/0000166934

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 4th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1965, the great 400 game winner Masaichi Kaneda made a minor league start, the only such appearance of his career.

September 3, 2002

Arias Three Run Homer Keys Seven Run Seventh in Hanshin History

A shot into the leftfield bleachers by Hanshin Tigers first baseman George Arias, his club's 100th homer of the campaign, blew open what was a competitive game in the seventh inning and enabled the Osaka squad to cruise to an eventual 10-2 victory over the Hiroshima Carp Tuesday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium. Righthander Taiyo Fujita, the Tigers' 2000 number one draft choice whose rookie season was a disaster, posted his first pro win with a complete game five hitter in his fourth start of the year. He was clocked at a high of 89mph and kept the opposition back on their heels with a steady diet of forkballs.

Ken Takahashi started for the fish and had a forgettable night, giving up seven runs, all earned, on ten hits, two of those leaving the field of play, in six innings to be blamed for his 11th defeat against nine shiroboshi.

Hanshin seized a first inning lead when centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi laced the first of his three doubles as part of what became a 5-5 night and went to third on a sharp single to left by second baseman Makoto Imaoka. Rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama walked to load the bases and Arias flew out to center to give Akahoshi time to tag and score to make it 1-0. Shortstop Yoshihiro Okihara then walked to repack the sacks and leftfielder Taichiro Kamisaka then finagled a freebie to force Imaoka in and it was 2-0 Tigers.

In the third, Okihara launched a Takahashi delivery just inside the rightfield foul pole for his first jack of the season and a 3-0 Hanshin advantage.

Things slowed down offensively until the seventh, when the visitors put it away. Akahoshi leadoff with his final two bagger down the leftfield line and third baseman Atsushi Kataoka walked. Hiyama then banged a single to left to plate Akahoshi. Arias was next and he massacred a fastball, lining it 430 feet deep into the leftfield bleachers to open a yawning 7-0 gap between the two sides and knock Takahashi out of the game. One out later, Kamisaka tripled to center off of reliever Daisuke Sakai and trotted in on an RBI knock to center from catcher Katsuhiko Yamada. After being sacrificed to second, Yamada was converted on a two base screamer to leftcenter from Imaoka. Akahoshi then redeemed Imaoka with a single to right and it was 10-0 Hanshin.

In the ninth, Hiroshima averted being shutout when centerfielder Koichi Ogata singled to left with one away and leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto went yard down the rightfield line to make the score a slightly less embarrassing 10-2. Fujita then fanned both rightfielder Tomonori Maeda and first baseman Takahiro Arai to close it out.

Akahoshi has seven straight hits over his last two games. The Japanese record is 11 consecutive safeties by R.J. Reynolds of the Taiyo Whales in 1991. The team mark is ten, by Masayuki Kakefu in 1981.

For Hanshin, Arias was 1-3 with a walk and four RBIs and is at .253.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

T. Fujita (W, 1-3) IP 9.0 PC 124 H 5 HR 1 K 10 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.36

Hiroshima:

K. Takahashi (L, 9-11) IP 6.0 PC 127 H 10 HR 2 K 6 BB 4 R 7 ER 7 ERA 4.14
D. Sakai                          IP 1.0 PC   19 H 4 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 8.42
Hiroike                            IP 1.0 PC   16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.40
Yamauchi                       IP 1.0 PC     7 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40

2B: Akahoshi 3, Nishiyama, Kanemoto, Imaoka,
3B: Kamisaka
HR: Okihara (1), Arias (24), Kanemoto (21)
RBI: Imaoka, Akahoshi, Hiyama, Arias 4, Okihara, Kamisaka, K. Yamada, Kanemoto 2 SF: Arias
GIDP: Okihara

Season Series: Hanshin 12, Hiroshima 10

Game Time: 3:11
Attendance: 11,000
Umpires: Nishimoto (HP), Watada (1B), Manabe (2B), Tani (3B)

Ninth Inning Sato Homer Starts Triumphant Comeback for Lotte

A two run pinch hit dinger with a man on in the top of the ninth by Yukihiko Sato brought the Chiba Lotte Marines even with the Kintetsu Buffaloes and then an RBI single to left by leftfielder Derrick May provided the game winner in the following frame in a 6-5 Lotte victory at Osaka Dome Tuesday. Brian Sikorsky snatched his third win while Buffs reliever Akinori Otsuka dropped his first. In addition, Masahide Kobayashi tossed a scoreless last of the tenth for his 23rd straight save point, eclipsing former Yokohama Bay Stars reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki's Japan record of 22.

Lotte got the upper hand in the second off of Kintetsu starter Daisuke Miyamoto, as May pancaked one off the leftfield wall for a long single and then went to third when both second baseman Koichi Hori and third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba walked. Catcher Masaumi Shimizu flew out to center for a sac fly and the first tally of the match. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka singled to right to drive in Hori and it was 2-0 Lotte.

Kintetsu reacted immediately and surmounted that deficit in their turn at bat. First baseman Yuji Yoshioka ignited the rally with the first of his pair of homers, this one going into the centertfield bleachers. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura doubled down the rightfield line and advanced on a groundout. Catcher Tetsuya Matoyama singled to right and it was a tie ballgame at 2-2. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe singled to right, too and then second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi pushed Matoyama across with a single to center to put his nine in front 3-2.

Lotte, however, erased that disadvantage in the third with a two out double to leftcenter by DH Frank Bolick and an RBI single to left by May to equalize it at 3-3.

Turn about being fair play, Kintetsu utilized a similar formula in the home segment with a two out double into the rightfield corner by Naoyuki Omura and a single to right by shortstop Masahiro Abe for a 4-3 lead.

After wasting a one out, bases loaded opportunity in the fourth, the Buffs offense pretty much slumbered until the seventh, when Yoshioka took Hiroyuki Kobayashi over the leftcenterfield wall to goose the Buffs lead to 5-3.

In the ninth, though, that disparity vanished with a wave of Sato's bat. Hori kicked off the stanza by rolling a ball to Abe, who booted it. One out later, Lotte boss Koji Yamamoto sent Sato up to hit for Shimizu and he got a hanging slider from Otsuka, propelling it deep into the leftfield seats to tie it at 5-5.

Sikorsky allowed a man to reach third in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but wriggled out of it and Lotte then did what it took to win this thing. Centerfielder Saburo Omura catalyzed it with a single to center and first baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to right. One out later, May singled to left and Omura sprinted around to make it 6-5 Lotte.

Masahide Kobayashi strode in from the pen and promptly walked leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes. Kintetsu got no further, as third baseman Norihiro Nakamura tapped into a 5-4-3 double play and DH Fumitoshi Takano flew to right to turn out the lights.

There was some interesting news surrounding the Kintetsu ballclub, who are contemplating dropping their company name from the team's name, which is now the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes, and shortening it to just the Osaka Buffaloes. The parent corporation, a railway and travel concern, is in the process of shoring up its bottom line by closing or reorganizing unprofitable subsidiaries and the Buffs are perenially $8-13 million in the red. It could be that part or all of the team could be sold, though Kintetsu officials state that they would prefer the club be owned by the city of Osaka itself, perhaps in a deal kind of like what the Hiroshima Carp has with the municipality they reside in. It is futher thought that removing the corporate name may make it easier to sell. Final decisions will reportedly be made in October. Kintetsu has owned the Buffs since they came into the Pacific League in 1950 as the Pearls. the Osaka Dome opened in 1997, but total attendance has declined somewhat since that first season there.

For Lotte, Bolick was 1-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .219. May was 3-5 with two RBIs and is at .257.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-2 with three walks and an HBP and is at .266.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

N. Shimizu                      IP 3.1 PC 99 H 8 HR 1 K 3 BB 4 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.11
T. Kawai                         IP 2.0 PC 33 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.17
H. Kobayashi                IP 1.1 PC 25 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.73
S. Fujita                          IP 0.1 PC   5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.79
A. Yoshida                    IP 1.0 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.22
Sikorsky (W, 3-6)         IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.97
M. Kobayashi (S, 27) IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.09

Kintetsu:

D. Miyamoto               IP 5.0 PC 87 H 6 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.33
S. Yamamoto               IP 0.1 PC   3 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.97
Misawa                        IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.97
T. Yoshida                   IP 1.1 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.96
A.N. Otsuka (L, 2-1)   IP 1.2 PC 42 H 5 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 3 ER 2 ERA 1.48
A. Okamoto                 IP 0.2 PC   6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.55

E: M. Abe
SB: Isobe, Matoyama
2B: N. Omura 2, Bolick,
HR: Yoshioka 2 (20), Sato (1)
RBI: May 2, Masaumi Shimizu, Sato 2, Kosaka, Mizuguchi, Yoshioka 2, M. Abe, Matoyama
SF: Masaumi Shimizu
IBB: Isobe (Sikorsky)
HBP: Fukuura (D. Miyamoto), Rhodes (Kawai)
GIDP: Bolick, Fukuura, N. Nakamura

Season Series: Lotte 11, Kintetsu 11

Game Time: 4:44
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Maeda (HP), Iizuka (1B), Yamamura (2B), Nagami (3B)

Deguchi, Iguchi Slam Exit Shut on Orix in 7-1 Daiei Win

Daiei Hawks leftfielder Yudai Deguchi ended his team's domination by Orix Blue Wave starter Ed Yarnell who, had limited the birds of prey to one hit over the initial four innings, in the fifth when he drilled the first grand slam of his career at Kobe Green Stadium Tuesday to put Daiei up by a 4-1 margin. Hawks second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who is going to have shoulder surgery during the offseason, then added a two run clout in the ninth to power a 7-1 spanking. Kenichi Wakatabe had his best outing in a while, going 7.1 innings of one run ball on seven hits, striking out eight and walking three to earn his eighth victory.

Orix had attained their 1-0 advantage in the third, as shortstop Makoto Shiozaki leadoff with a single to center and, one out later, Daiei shortstop Yusuke Torigoe clanked a roller off the bat of leftfielder Kazuhiko Shiotani. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani then singled to left to cash in Shiozaki.

Orix fumbled away a one out,.man on third situation in the fourth and then the Hawks offense made itself heard in the fifth. Rightfielder Motoi Okoshi leadoff with a single to left and, one out later, both Torigoe and pinch hitter Noriyoshi Omichi walked to fill the sacks. Deguchi dug in and dialed long distance on Yarnell to left and just like that Daiei was in the drigver's seat at 4-1.

Orix exacerbated its position in the seventh with some shoddy glovework. Iguchi started the inning by whizzing one down the leftfield line for a double and was sacrificed to third. With the infield up, Omichi grounded to second and it was mishandled by Koichi Oshima to allow Iguchi to cross and make it 5-1 Hawks.

Orix had a chance to get back in it when they loaded the bases on a walk and two infield hits in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, but catcher Takeshi Miwa grounded to third to kill it off.

So the Hawks order responded with a one out infield hit by Okoshi and Iguchi cleaned and jerked it stage right for a 7-1 lead. Daiei reliever Shuji Yoshida retired three of the four men he saw in the bottom portion for his second save.

For Orix, third baseman Scott Sheldon was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .261.

For Daiei, DH Pedro Valdez was 0-4 and is at .309.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Wakatabe (W, 8-7) IP 7.1 PC 114 H 7 HR 0 K 8 BB 3 R 1 ER 0 ERA 2.92
S. Yoshida (S, 2) IP 1.2 PC 23 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.76

Orix:

Yarnell (L, 6-12)    IP 6.1 PC 112 H 4 HR 1 K 6 BB 3 R 5 ER 4 ERA 3.66
Hirai                       IP 0.2 PC     7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kase                      IP 1.0 PC   12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.68
Aiki                       IP 1.0 PC    17 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.13

E: Torigoe, K. Oshima, Shiozaki
SB: Okoshi
2B: Goshima, Iguchi
HR: Deguchi (5), Iguchi (16)
RBI: Deguchi 4, Iguchi 2, Tani
GIDP: Miwa

Season Series: Daiei 11, Orix 11

Game Time: 2:59
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Fujimoto (HP), Hayashi (1B), Higashi (2B), Kaneko (3B)

Onishi RBI Single in Ninth Beats Yokohama 2-1

Veteran screwballer Masahiro Yamamoto continues his late surge with his best effort of the season so far, as he went eight innings of one run ball on four hits to even his record at 6-6 and cull his 150th lifetime shiroboshi. Leftfielder Takayuki Onishi contributed the big blow of this pitching duel with a ninth inning single to right that sent third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami scurrying in in the Chunichi Dragons 2-1 triumph over the Yokohama Bay Stars. Four of Yamamoto's 2002 wins have come at the Stars expense.

Yamamoto and Stars starter Yuji Yoshimi rendered the other side hitless until the fifth, when the Dragons got a single to right by catcher Motonobu Tanishige, who was sacrificed to second. Onishi singled to center, Tanishige stopping at third. Centerfielder Hidenori Kuramoto walked to laod the bases. But the next man up was Yamamoto, who grounded into a 4-2 force play. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata then struckout and that chance went by the boards.

But the Dragons returned in the sixth to score the game's first run, when second baseman Masahiro Araki beat out a tapper toward second and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome singled to right. Araki went to third on a groundout to first and hustled in on a groundout to short by Tanishige and it was 1-0 Chunichi.

Yokohama likewise rallied to gridlock it in the bottom half, as Yoshimi beat out a grounder toward short and went to second on a sac bunt. One out later, second baseman Hitoshi Taneda singled to center and Yoshimi reported to make it 1-1.

Kazuo Fukumori came on in the ninth for Yokohama and he was saddled with the loss. Tatsunami walked and was sacrificed to second. First baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to left. Onishi sidled up to home plate and thwacked a single to right to send in Tatsunami and now it was up to Chunichi closer Eddie Gaillard to obtain the final three outs, which he did, though not before allowing the winning run to reach first to make it tense.

The free agent list grew again for Yokohama, as pitcher Takashi Saito is now eligible to sample offers from other ballclubs, both foreign and domestic. He hasn't indicated either way what he intends to do.

Yamamoto is the first Dragons hurler to get to 150 wins since the great righthander Shigeru Sugishita (a two time 30 game winner) in 1955, That doesn't seem right, though. He is also the 45th in Japanese history to get to that number, doing it in 389 lifetime appearances.

For Yokohama, first baseman Boi Rodrigues was 1-3 and is at .268.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

M. Yamamoto (W, 6-6) IP 8.0 PC 107 H 4 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.04
Gaillard (S, 27) IP 1.0 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.64

Yokohama:

Yoshimi                     IP 8.0 PC 113 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.54
Fukumori (L, 2-2)     IP 0.2 PC   19 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.41
R. Kawahara             IP 0.1 PC     5 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.05

E: Tanishige
SB: Onishi, T. Suzuki
RBI: Tanishige, Onishi, Taneda

Season Series: Chunichi 14, Yokohama 7

Game Time: 3:09
Attendance: 26,000
Umpires: Mori (HP), Arisumi (1B), Yoshimoto (2B), ? (3B)

Nippon Ham to Hold Foreign Fans Night

See Japan Times story at: http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020904wg.htm

Hong Walkoff Slam Ends Extra Inning Game by Kia with Samsung

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090317284147110.htm

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for September 3rd and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1962, Fuji-tv announced it would buy stock in the Kokutetsu Swallows.

September 2, 2002

A Note to You Readers

I had intended to take one week off from reporting the day to day affairs of Japanese baseball due to my girlfriend coming to visit from Japan, but as it turned out, a couple of days after she went home, I came down with a severe throat infection that knocked me flat and left me mostly in bed until earlier today. Thanks to that illness, I'm now several pounds lighter and I had no desire to even get on the net during that time. Moreover, for those who wrote me emails and such I've had to put off responding to them. I'll be getting back to those in a couple of days once I get things rolling here again. I apologize to you readers for the break, but it was one of those things that couldn't be helped. The last time I was that ill was when I caught the flu in Korea back in 1995, so hopefully it will be at least that long again before I have to experience what I did the past week.

Kobayashi Ties Sasaki Consecutive Save Points Record in Lotte Win

The Chiba Lotte Marines took their fourth in a row from the Kintetsu Buffaloes Monday at Osaka Dome, as Lotte closer Masahide Kobayashi came on in the ninth and needed just nine pitches to tie Kazuhiro Sasaki's record for consecutive save points with his 22nd in a string that began on May 21st. Kobayashi's father, Masao, died on August 31st of last year and thus the stopper dedicated the attainment of the mark to him.

Kintetsu broke out on top in the third when DH Fumitoshi Takano beat out a bleeder toward second and, two outs later, third baseman Norihiro Nakamura put the good wood on a curve ball from Lotte starter Kosuke Kato and torqued it into the leftfield seats for a 2-0 Buffs lead. That was really the only time Kato was in trouble the whole game, as he otherwise went 7.2 strong innings of three hit ball, though he did walk four while striking out five.

Hiroshi Takamura, who was on the mound for Kintetsu while also celebrating his 33rd birthday, was rolling along until the fifth, when, after walking Lotte rightfielder Kenji Morozumi to lead off the frame, made a mistake to centerfielder Saburo Omura, who buried it in the leftfield bleachers to knot it at two apiece.

Then in the sixth, Lotte got a double from second baseman Koichi Hori to kick off the attack and came around on a one out single to left by catcher Masaumi Shimizu to put the Chiba side ahead 3-2.

Kato walked Buffs second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi to open the eighth and then induced a comebacker to start a 1-6-3 double play. Neverthless, Lotte manager Koji Yamamoto decided that Kato, who had been out there for 118 pitches, was looking tired enough to yank him in favor of Brian Sikorsky, who pitched around Nakamura and eventually walked him and then lured first baseman Yuji Yoshioka into flying out to left to end the inning and set the stage for Kobayashi to hermetically seal up the victory in the final stanza.

One thing that perhaps made the crispness of Kobayashi's outing even more interesting was that he hadn't had an appearance since August 23rd due to the team's lackluster play.

For Lotte, leftfielder Derrick May was 1-4 and is at .253. DH Frank Bolick was 1-3 with a walk and is at .218.

For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-2 with two walks and an error and is at .265.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

K. Kato (W, 8-11)         IP 7.2 PC 118 H 3 HR 1 K 5 BB 4 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.05
Sikorsky                        IP 0.1 PC    12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.02
M. Kobayashi (S, 26) IP 1.0 PC      9 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.13

Kintetsu:

Takamura (L, 7-7)     IP 6.0 PC 108 H 7 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.32
T. Yoshida                IP 1.0 PC   11 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08
A. Okamoto              IP 2.0 PC   19 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.57

E: Takamura, Hori, Rhodes
2B: Hori 2, May, Bolick
HR: N. Nakamura (32), S. Omura (5)
RBI: N. Nakamura 2, S. Omura 2, Masaumi Shimizu
GIDP: Rhodes

Season Series: Lotte 10, Kintetsu 11

Game Time: 3:08
Attendance: 15,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Nagami (1B), Maeda (2B), Iizuka (3B)

Two Hidaka Homers Power Orix Past Daiei 4-1

Orix Blue Wave catcher Takeshi Hidaka homered twice and starter Hisashi Ogura twirled 7.1 innings of one run ball on eight hits to turn away a fine six inning effort from Tomohiro Nagai of the Daiei Hawks Monday in the Kobe contingent's 4-1 triumph at Green Stadium. That was the seven year veteran Hidaka's first multi-homer contest in two years and also gave him his first double digit production in longballs for acampaign.

The Hawks had the upper hand for a while when catcher Kenji Johjima hurtled a ball into the mezzanine level of the leftfield seats with one out in the second for a 1-0 advantage.

Hidaka restored equilibrium with two gone in the fourth when he mashed a Nagai offering into the rightfield stands to make it 1-1.

In the seventh and with Akira Matsumoto on the hill for Daiei, Orix scratched for a tally to surge in front. Second baseman Koichi Oshima walked to commence the inning and went to second on a sac bunt. He eventually somehow got to third (wild pitch?) and hit the dish on a sac fly to center from centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani and it was 2-1 home team.

An inning later, Orix first baseman Yuji Goshima came up with one down and parked one in the leftfield bleachers to widen it to 3-1 Blue Wave. Following a groundout, Hidaka checked in and then got real gone to right and it was all Orix at 4-1.

Jun Hagiwara, the converted infielder, ascended the hill in the top of the ninth to attempt to put it in the refrigerator. Johjima leadoff with a sizzler down the leftfield line for a double. One out later, pinch hitter Noriyoshi Omichi walked to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of shortstop Yusuke Torigoe. However, Torigoe slapped a grounder to former multiple Gold Glove recipient Tatsuya Shindo, who whipped it to second and then the ball was relayed to first to end it.

Orix fireballer Kazuo Yamaguchi, who has been clocked as high as 97mph this season, is now gone for the duration due to a problem in his shoulder joint.

For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdez was 1-3 with a walk and is at .312.

For Orix, starting third baseman Scott Sheldon was 1-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .263.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Nagai IP 6.0 PC 131 H 3 HR 1 K 8 BB 6 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.74
Matsumoto (L, 0-1) IP 2.0 PC 49 H 3 HR 2 K 2 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.72

Orix:

H. Ogura (W, 3-3)     IP 7.1 PC 125 H 8 HR 1 K 5 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.71
T. Yamamoto             IP 0.2 PC     2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.57
J. Hagiwara (S, 5)      IP 1.0 PC   11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.60

2B: Muramatsu, Johjima
HR: Johjima (23), Hidaka 2 (11), Goshima (4)
RBI: Tani, Hidaka 2, Goshima, Johjima
SF: Tani
GIDP: Johjima, Matsunaka, Torigoe

Season Series: Daiei 10, Orix 11

Game Time: 3:29
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Kakigizono (HP), Kaneko (1B), Hayashi (2B), Fujimoto (3B)

Yokohama's Hiroo Ishii Retires

Yokohama Bay Stars infielder Hiroo Ishii, a 13 year veteran who has played with a total of four clubs during that span, announced Monday that due to injuries he was going to call it a day, effective at season's end.

The 38 year old Akita Prefecture native played for Akita High School and Waseda University before moving on to Prince Hotels in the Japanese industrial leagues and then went to Kintetsu on the third round of the 1989 draft, slugging 22 homers and driving in 46 while batting .300 in 86 games during his rookie campaign.

He won an RBI crown in 1994 with 111 and established a single season best with 33 dingers in the midst of hitting .316. He then went on to toil for Yomiuri from 1997-1999 and Lotte from 2000-2001, and, beginning this season, Yokohama, in an injury riddled career. He has appeared in just 33 games so far and had been batting .211 with no homers and two RBIs while spending most of the year in the minors. Lifetime to date, he has posted a .289 mark with 162 homers and 536 RBIs in 973 games.

Kudoh to MLB?

Yomiuri Giants lefthander Kimiyasu Kudoh refused a three year deal from the Colorado Rockies as well as a reported offer from the Seattle Mariners in 2000 to sign a two year pact with the Tokyo outfit and now that the Giants deal expires after the conclusion of the current season, he may be on his way to the Boston Red Sox, the Dodgers, the San Francisco or perhaps one of several other MLB organizations if a front page article in today's Sports Nippon is correct.

Kudoh, who has also been with the Seibu Lions, who drafted him number six in 1982, and the Daiei Hawks and has several championship rings to show for his trouble, will be 40 next season, but major league scouts are still liking what they see from him in 2002, a year in which he has thrown often spectacularly and then been unrewarded for it thanks to spotty run support, fashioning a 2.68 ERA thus far even if his record is just 8-7. Dodgers Assistant to General Manager Dan Evans Don Wilkie was at a start Kudoh made against Yokohama on August 31, as was a D'backs scout, who refused to comment on player personnel matters.

Kudoh, who hails from Aichi Prefecture and is an alumnus of the same high school that produced Ichiro Suzuki, has pitched well against MLB squads in the past and features fine control of both a curve ball and a slider, in addition to a mid-high 80's fastball. As for what he himself thinks of all this, Kudoh told the press that he just wants to focus on winning the pennant.

Coming into this year, Kudoh had a 175-97 record with three saves and an ERA of 3.20 in 455 games. He is ninth all time in strikeouts in Japanese history with 2302. In 2001, he spent almost the entire season out with injury until coming back and putting up a sparkling current campaign. He won an ERA title in 1985 and then the following year was named the MVP of the Japan Series when he won a game (thanks to his own walkoff basehit in extra innings) and saved two others and then toted another ERA crown home after a stellar 15-3 2.41 1987 season and showed it was no fluke in the post season, earning another MVP nod with two wins, a save, and an 0.48 ERA in the Japan Series. With the Lions alone, he was on eight pennant winners and six Japan Series champions. In 1993, he had to clear more space out of his trophy case for a regular season MVP statue and another ERA title, when he went 15-3 with a 2.06 ERA.

In 1994, he became a free agent and signed with Daiei, winning a Japan Series championship with them in 1999 after going 11-7 with a 2.38 ERA as well as another regular season MVP. He also has three Gold Gloves and has been named to three Best Nine squads. He is something of a craftsman on the mound, painting corners and changing speeds. And even if he takes his craft seriously, he does it with good humor and doesn't let failure get to him. If he has anything left at all next season, he is going to make some division's hitters pretty miserable.

Bobby Rose Back in Yokohama?

As a totally forgettable season rolls on, the Yokohama Bay Stars are already looking at what new foreign players to add to the roster next season, says a report in Sankei Sports. One name that has been mentioned is pitcher Matt Whiteside, who is currently in the Rockies system. Another is former Angel and Bay Star second baseman Bobby Rose. Rose was let go two years ago following acrimonious salary negotiations and the club hasn't been the same since, falling to the worst record in all of Japanese baseball in 2002.

After paying the former big leaguer over $3 million in 2000, the Stars rejected a demand by Rose that would have seen him paid almost $1 million more. This time, the team thinks that not only can they get Rose to sign for only about 10% of what he was paid as the spearhead of what was once dubbed "the Machine Gun Offense," but that it will generate a buzz that will help the side at the box office. Rose will be 36 and is currently coaching baseball at the high school level, but has kept working out and is reportedly still in playing shape.

Rose was a number five selection by the Angels in 1985 and, after eight seasons in that organization as a utility man with a bit of an injury bug, he joined the Stars in 1993, batting .325 with 19 homers and a Central League leading 94 RBIs. In 1999, he set league records for hits and RBIs in a season (192 and 158 respectively) while belting a lifetime best 37 roundtrippers and putting up a gaudy .369 mark at the plate to take the batting crown. In eight Japanese seasons, he hit .325 with 167 homers and 808 RBIs in 1039 games. His OPS was .939. He was named to six Best Nine teams and had a record three games in which he hit for the cycle.

Tryouts for Japanese Teams

If you are aspiring to perhaps be picked up by a Japanese pro team, there will be tryouts held at Yokosuka Bay Stars Stadium on November 6th, according to Sports Nippon. No details about how to get involved in the tryouts are included, though the players at it will largely be made up of those released this season by the 12 elite clubs. The facility is in Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture, Nagaura-cho 1-1555-1 about a ten minute walk from the Keihin Kyuukou Honsen (the Keihin Express Main Line) Station at Anjinzuka. Please do not email me or Baseball Guru for more info, since that is all I have at the moment. For a pic of the facility, go to:http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~kw2h-ktu/yb-b/ballpark/park_yokosuka.htm

There will then be another tryout held at either Naruohama or Koshien Stadium on November 26th, but obviously that one is still in the preliminary scheduling stage.

Son Ji-hwan Homer Leads LG Doublehheader Sweep

See Korea Times article at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200209/t2002090217514247110.htm

August 9, 2002

Matsui, Motoki, Nioka Each Homer Twice to Annihilate Carp 15-1

If you were a Hiroshima Carp pitcher, Friday was one of those days when it would have been better to call in sick, as Yomiuri Giants centerfielder Hideki Matsui, shortstop Tomohiro Nioka and third baseman Daisuke Motoki each launched a pair of missiles to leave the Red Hell in utter ruins 15-1 at Tokyo Dome. Kimiyasu Kudoh, saddled again with little run support in his last outing, was fed boatloads of it here to claim his seventh victory.

Ken Takahashi started for Hiroshima and stuck it out for four innings while being pummeled for seven runs, four earned, on nine hits, three of those homers, to get hung with the loss and even his record at 8-8. Both of Matsui's blasts came at Takahashi's expense, making the southpaw Godzilla's second favorite source of dingers. The Giants cleanup hitter has taken Takahashi downtown on ten occasions lifetime. Yokohama's Takashi Saito has run 13 fat ones up to Matsui over the years and thus holds the number one victim designation.

Anyway, Hiroshima had a lead that lasted about five minutes in the first, as shortstop Akihiro Higashide cracked a one out single to left and second baseman Eddie Diaz ripped one to right. One out later, first baseman Luis Lopez singled to left and Higashide scampered in to make it 1-0 Carp. Those were the last baserunners Hiroshima would have while Kudoh was on the hill.

During the Giants turn, Nioka, making his first start since bruising a knee six games ago, evened it with a one out with a jack into the rightfield seats. One out later, Matsui, who had working on hitting curve balls in the batting cage before the game, got a 3-2 hanging slider that Takahashi was attempting to spot on the outside corner and absolutely atomized it, hitting it on a line into the upper deck in dead centerfield 475 feet away to make it 2-1 Yomiuri.

In the third, the Giants all but put this one in the refrigerator. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu leadoff with a double into the leftcenterfield alley. Nioka singled to left to plate Shimizu. There was then an out in this sequence, probably Nioka out attempting to steal. One out later, Matsui got a sinker down and in and lofted that well into the rightfield stands for a two run homer and a 4-1 Yomiuri advantage. Third baseman Akira Etoh grounded to short, where the ball was booted by Higashide. Motoki played pattycake with the leftfield wall for an RBI double. Second baseman Masahiro Kawai then doubled to leftcenter to convert Motoki. Rightfielder Ichiro Horita thunked one off the leftfield wall for two bases and an RBI to put Yomiuri up 7-1.

In the fifth, Motoki escorted a pitch from Carp reliever Masato Kawano on a tour of the leftcenterfield seats and it was 8-1 Giants.

The Giants rested a while and then opened fire again in the eighth on Koji Hiroike. With one gone, both pinch hitter Yasuo Nagaike and backup rightfielder Takayuki Saito walked. Shimizu beat out a roller toward short. Everyone then trotted home when Nioka relocated one into the rightfield bleachers for a grand slam to make it 12-1. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe singled off the rightfield wall. Matsui walked. Pinch hitter Satoshi Kuroda grounded to second. Motoki then poleaxed a delivery into the leftfield stands to cap off the barrage at 15-1.

All the three major Japanese sports dailies, Nikkan Sports, Sports Nippon and Sankei Sports, fell all over themselves in presenting stats to commemorate Matsui reaching the 30 homer mark, making this the seventh consecutive season he has attained that figure, making him fifth on the all time list behind Sadaharu Oh (19), Koji Akiyama (9), Koji Yamamoto (8) and Katsuya Nomura (7). Moreover, by getting to 30 in his 95th game, it is the fastest homer pace of his career, though his recent hot streak of going yard ten times in his last 13 games helped elevate that pace. If he can keep this up, he would set a new single season high of 44, breaking his personal best of 42.

Godzilla, who is a righthanded thrower, used to bat righthanded as well. However, an eye examination as a youngster that revealed that is right eye was the strongest caused him to switch to batting lefthanded. And he is hitting southpaws better and better. In 2002, he has 17 of his dingers against lefties. Lifetime, coming into this season, he had 173 against righthanders and 109 against lefties. That's still not a bad balance. This was his 36th career multi-homer game, 35 of those two homer affairs while he had one of three homers.

And one other little stat for you baseball stats otaku: 999 balls have transgressed the fences at Tokyo Dome since it opened in 1988. So who will hit number 1,000? Stay tuned!

As an extra bonus, when Kudoh struckout Carp leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto, that was 2272nd strikeout, putting him alone at number nine all time, just ahead of the great Minoru Murayama.

For Hiroshima, Diaz was 1-4 and is at .287. Lopez was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .243.

Also, see Japan Times article at:
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020810a1.htm

Pitching Lines:

Hiroshima:

K. Takahashi (L, 8-8) IP 4.0 PC 73 H 9 HR 3 K 4 BB 0 R 7 ER 4 ERA 3.60
Kawano IP 2.0 PC 21 H 1 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 12.00
Hiroike IP 2.0 PC 47 H 6 HR 2 K 1 BB 3 R 7 ER 7 ERA 5.08

Yomiuri:

Kudoh (W, 7-6)     IP 6.0 PC 79 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.76
Kawamoto              IP 1.0 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.96
Jobe                         IP 1.0 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.01
Y. Maeda                IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.72

E: Higashide, Arai
2B: T. Shimizu, Motoki, M. Kawai, Horita, Nioka,
HR: Nioka 2 (15), Matsui 2 (30), Motoki 2 (6)
RBI: Lopez, Nioka 6, H. Matsui 2, Motoki 5, M. Kawai, Horita
GIDP: Motoki

Season Series: Hiroshima 8, Yomiuri 11 1 Tie

Game Time: 2:45
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Tomoyori (HP), Shikida (1B), Watada (2B), Mori (3B)

Iwamura Sayonara Single Ends Wild One for Yakult 9-8

The Yokohama Bay Stars are having a miserable year, having the worst record in Japanese baseball this season, but they at least showed some fight Friday at Meiji Jingu Stadium against the Yakult Swallows, as they rallied from several deficits, only to ultimately lose it 9-8 on a single to right by Swallows third baseman Akinori Iwamura with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth.Reliever Ryota Igarashi was awarded the win to improve his record to 8-1 while Shintaro Takeshita was blamed for the defeat.

Yataro Sakamoto, starting in place of Kevin Hodges, who was scheduled but was feeling ill with a stomach complaint, had another bad outing, lasting just two innings before being removed. In the top of the first, Yokohama took a short lived lead. Shortstop Takuro Ishii beat out a tapper toward first and was sacrificed to second. One out later, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues doubled down the rightfield line to usher Ishii in and make it 1-0 Stars.

Yokohama starter Kazuo Fukumori tossed a perfect first and then got burned badly in the second. First baseman Roberto Petagine walked to begin the inning. One out later, Iwamura singled to right. Catcher Atsuya Furuta singled to center to drive Petagine in. Second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi singled to center to plate Iwamura. Sakamoto sacrificed the runners along. Centerfielder Shinichi Sato singled to center to send in Furuta and Shiroishi. Shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to center. Rightfielder Atsunori Inaba singled to right and Sato chugged in to make it 5-1 Yakult.

Sakamoto soon coughed that advantage up, however. In the top of the third, Ishii leadoff by getting nailed by a pitch. Leftfielder Kazunori Tanaka singled to center. Centerfielder Hitoshi Nakane then laid the smack down on Sakamoto to left for a three run homer to reduce the gap; with Yakult to 5-4. Rodrigues flared a double to center. First baseman Hirofumi Ogawa beat out a little bleeder toward third. Third baseman Mike Gulan was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Hirotoshi Maeda relieved Sakamoto. Second baseman Makoto Fukumoto grounded to short and Rodrigues touched the plate to knot it at five all.

So Yakult, once back in the dugout after a long half inning in the field, regrouped and surged ahead once more in the bottom of the inning against Ryuichi Kawahara. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez commenced it with a single to center. One out later, Furuta walked. Shiroishi grounded to short, but then Maeda singled to center for the RBI and a 6-5 Swallows edge.

Masao Morinaka came on in the fifth for his second inning on the hill and Petagine flogged the fifth pitch in the at bat halfway up the rightcenterfield seats, his first roundtripper in nine games, for a two run cushion at 7-5.

Yokohama didn't panic. While the scoreboard was in the process of going out for good due to a computer glitch in the sixth, the Stars rallied again. Fukumoto singled to center. One out later, pinch hitter Hitoshi Tamura toasted a Maeda changeup over the leftfield wall to knot it at 7-7.

Yakult then hit up another Stars reliever, Kazushi Hosomi, for a two out longball to left by Miyamoto and the home team had the upper hand at 8-7.

Igarashi ascended the hill in the top of the ninth hoping to end it and instead only created more drama. Pinch hitter Takanori Suzuki doubled to center. Nakane walked. Rodrigues popped out to short. Ogawa, though, singled to center to drive in Suzuki with the tying run and put the winning run in scoring position. Fortunately for Yakult, Igarashi stepped it up by fanning Gulan and inducing a flyout to keep it tied.

Yokohama manager Masaaki Mori selected Takeshita from the bullpen and he did not choose wisely. Inaba beat out a bunt toward third. Petagine singled to right to send Inaba to third. Ramirez was walked to set up a force at every base. Iwamura then lined a knock to right and the seesaw battle was over with Yakult emerging on top 9-8.

Once the game was over, Mori challenged a heckler who questioned the timing of his pitching changes, to a fight, but was steered back into the dugout. Obviously, the oppressive Japanese summer heat and humidity is getting to people.

Nakane hashomered in three consecutive contests before, the last time while he was a rookie with Kintetsu in 1989.

Five of Yakult's seven August games have gone extra innings and this one almost made it there, but it didn't. With Shingo Takatsu on the shelf right now as he tries to regain his command, manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu doesn't really want to burn up his pen.

Iwamura finished the night 3-5 to raise his average to .335, third in the Central League.

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 2-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .284. Gulan was 1-3 with a walk and an HBP and is at .237.

For Yakult, Petagine was 2-4 with an RBI and a walk and is at .321. Ramirez was 1-4 with a walk and is at .303.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

Fukumori                  IP 1.2 PC 33 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 5.85
R. Kawahara            IP 1.1 PC 25 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.15
Morinaka                 IP 2.0 PC 24 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.14
Hosomi                    IP 0.2 PC 17 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.78
Inamine                    IP 1.1 PC 26 H 1 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.48
Yone                         IP 1.0 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.26
Takeshita (L, 2-3)    IP 0.0 PC 14 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.18

Yakult:

Sakamoto                     IP 2.0 PC 53 H 7 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.62
H. Maeda                     IP 4.0 PC 65 H 3 HR 1 K 6 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 5.40
Kawabata                     IP 1.0 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.07
H. Ishii                          IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.07
R. Igarashi (W, 8-1)    IP 1.0 PC 28 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.67

2B: Rodrigues 2, T. Suzuki
HR: Nakane (3), Petagine (28), Tamura (3), S. Miyamoto (5)
RBI: Nakane 3, Rodrigues, Ogawa, Fukumoto, Tamura 2, S. Sato 2, S. Miyamoto, Inaba, Petagine, Iwamura, Furuta,
Shiroishi, H. Maeda
IBB: Ramirez
HBP: Gulan (Sakamoto)
GIDP: T. Nakamura

Season Series: Yokohama 7, Yakult 10

Game Time: 3:49
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: ? (HP), Honda (1B), T. Kobayashi (2B), Suginaga (3B)

Matsui Beats Orix with Sayonara Two Run Homer

Seibu Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui set one record and tied another Friday at Seibu Dome, as he smashed a two run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth off of Orix reliever Kazuo Yamaguchi to bring his team from being down 3-2 to a 4-3 victory. The sayonara circuit clout is his third of the season, which ties the Pacific League record. Moreover, all of them have been in games against Orix, the first time in Japanese history that one player has done that so frequently in a year to one particular opponent. This is also the fourth sayonara loss suffered by the Kobe contingent at the hands of the league frontrunning Lions and their eighth overall.

Seibu righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka made his first start since in two months and was rough around the edges, which was perhaps to be expected. He was clocked at a high of 92mph, rather low for him, but he still put forth a credible effort, giving up three runs, all in the third, on five hits in six innings and striking out six while walking two. But if he had made an accurate peg to second on a sac bunt attempt by Orix catcher Takeshi Hidaka, none of those runs would have crossed the plate.

Yuki Tanaka started for Orix and while he threw 100 pitches in his five innings, he permitted only two runs on five hits and results is what counts.

Orix seized a three run lead in the third, but it had some help. First baseman Fernando Seguignol leadoff with a walk. Hidaka laid down a bunt. Matsuzaka, who has a couple of Gold Gloves, pounced on it and made a throw that was in time, but it was wide of the bag and everyone was safe on a fielder's choice. Two outs later, catcher Tsutomu Itoh flashed Matsuzaka the sign for a pick off play to second, but Matsuzaka balked in setting himself for it and the runners moved up. Second baseman Koichi Oshima then spanked a double into the rightfield corner and both Seguignol and Hidaka wheeled on home. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani went back through the middle. It was a ball that Matsuzaka should have been able to flag down, but he didn't and it was ruled a hit. Third baseman Scott Sheldon then singled to left and Oshima jogged in for a 3-0 advantage.

The Lions broke up the shutout in their portion, as Itoh doubled to rightcenter and, one out later, Matsui tattooed a double to redeem Itoh and make it 3-1 Orix.

In the fifth, Seibu third baseman Tom Evans made it a one run game when he jackhammered one over the leftfield wall to reduce the size of the Orix hegemony to 3-2.

Chang Chih-chia came on in the seventh and worked a scoreless frame, striking out rightfielder Ryota Aikawa for the third out and thus tying a record for consecutive innings with a whiff at 23.

Fast forward then to the ninth and the fireballer Yamaguchi on the mound. After retiring the first man of the inning, second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi singled to center. Matsui, coming into the game, was four for his last 26, but had two doubles already in this one. Yamaguchi threw Matsui a 91mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and the speedy shortstop murdered it, unloading a rope into the mezzanine section in rightcenterfield for the walk off homer. Yamaguchi said after the game it wasn't a bad pitch, it's just that Matsui did a good piece of hitting. Whatever the case, Matsui remarked that the critical bomb made him forget how tired he is.

The last time a player had three sayonara homers was Troy Neel in 1996 when he was with Orix. Matsui is the sixth player overall to do that. The all time record for most walkoffs in a season is five, by Jack Howell of the Yakult Swallows in 1993.

For Orix, Sheldon was 2-3 with an RBI and a walk and is at .264. Seguignol was 0-2 with two walks and is at .208.

For Seibu, first baseman Alex Cabrera was 1-4 and is at .305. Evans was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .250.

Pitching Lines:

Orix:

Yuki Tanaka                    IP 5.0 PC 100 H 5 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 7.50
Tokumoto                       IP 1.0 PC   14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.70
Hiroshi Kobayashi        IP 1.0 PC   21 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.87
J. Hagiwara                     IP 1.0 PC   15 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.13
K. Yamaguchi (L, 2-3)   IP 0.1 PC   11 H 2 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.34

Seibu:

Matsuzaka              IP 6.0 PC 94 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.66
Chang                     IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.74
T. Shiozaki             IP 0.2 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.53
Doi                          IP 0.1 PC   8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.69
S. Mori (W, 4-6)    IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.39

SB: Tani, K. Matsui 2
2B: Sheldon, Cabrera, K. Oshima, T. Itoh, K. Matsui,
HR: Evans (9), K. Matsui (22)
RBI: K. Oshima 2, Sheldon, K. Matsui 3, Evans
IBB: Sheldon
Balk: Matsuzaka

Season Series: Orix 3, Seibu 13

Game Time: 3:19
Attendance: 24,000
Umpires: Yanagida (HP), Yamamoto (1B), Maeda (2B), Sakaemura (3B)

Kamisaka RBI in Seventh Helps Hanshin Keep Pace with Giants

Geez, is this a baseball team or a pilgrammage to Lourdes? The Hanshin Tigers, while already scrambling to compensate for the loss of its star rightfielder, Shinjiro Hiyama, and its cleanup hitter, George Arias, to injury, just added another to the ranks of the gimpy when rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka busted his thumb going for an unsuccessful diving catch of Chunichi Dragons first baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe's drive that ultimately went in the books as a double and is likely out for the season. Nevertheless, the Tigers got a sweet six innings out of Nobuyuki Hoshino, himself just back after a May injury, as well as three innings of one hit ball by the bullpen to pull out a 2-1 victory Friday at Nagoya Dome. Kenta Asakura, who hasn't won at home all season, suffered his ninth loss against seven wins even though he's boasting a flashy 2.59 ERA.

The Dragons staged a little two out rally to take a 1-0 lead in the third, as shortstop Hirokazu Ibata walked, Masahiro Araki singled to right and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome plated Ibata by lining a fastball for a single to left.

Hanshin then lucked into their first tally of the night when Hamanaka grounded to Kazuyoshi Tatsunami at third and he made a bad throw over to first for an error. Katsumi Hirosawa walked. One out later, Koji Hirashita flattened one against the rightfield fence and only got a single out of it, but Hamanaka blazed across the plate and it was one all.

The Tigers then made best use of a little opening in the seventh, as, with one gone, Hirashita singled to left and catcher Akihiro Yano walked. Taichiro Kamisaka pinch hit for the Hoshino and bounced a ten hopper through the hole between third and short to put the Osaka crew at the head of the line at 2-1.

In the eighth, the Dragons tried to force the issue and were repulsed. With one away, Fukudome walked off of Makoto Yoshino. One out later and with Mark Valdez now pitching, catcher Motonobu Tanishge pumped a double down the leftfield line. Hirashita got to the ball quickly and sent a strong relay to shortstop Yoshinori Okihara, who then turned and gunned it to Yano, who put the tag on Fukudome for the third out.

In the ninth, Valdez walked Yasuaki Taiho, just called up from the farm after Omar Linares' injury. Koichi Sekikawa was dispatched to pinch run. Masahiko Morino tried to sacrifice bunt, but Yano was all over it in a hurry and got the force at second. Two ground balls later, the victory was Hanshin's.

For Chunichi, Scott Bullet was 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance and is at .190.

For Hanshin, backup leftfielder Derrick White was 0-1 and is at .228.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

N. Hoshino (W, 2-1)IP 6.0 PC 87 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.59
Kanazawa                 IP 1.0 PC 24 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.73
Fukuhara                  IP 0.1 PC   8 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.60
Yoshino                    IP 0.1 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Valdez (S, 17)     IP 1.1 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.42

Chunichi:

Asakura (L, 7-9)      IP 7.0 PC 121 H 5 HR 0 K 7 BB 3 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.69
Yamakita                   IP 0.1 PC    8 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.58
Endo                          IP 1.2 PC 24 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.74

E: Tatsunami
2B: H.Y. Watanabe, Tanishige
RBI: Hirashita, Kamisaka, Fukudome
HBP: Tanishige (N. Hoshino), K. Inoue (Kanazawa)
GIDP: H.Y. Watanabe, Kuramoto, White,

Season Series: Hanshin 8, Chunichi 9, 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:25
Attendance: 40,500
Umpires: Kamimoto (HP), Watamari (1B), Ino (2B), Tani (3B)

Johnson Gets Lit Up, But Kintetsu Takes it Anyway 10-5

Mike Johnson took a lickin' Friday in his second start for Kintetsu, going slightly under four innings and being touched for five runs before being given the old heave ho by manager Masataka Nashida, but Hawks starter Kenichi Wakatabe was really worked over by the Buffs offense and it was they who went home the victors by a 10-5 margin. Koichi Misawa earned his fourth win in relief.

Johnson is actually lucky that the Hawks didn't do more to him than they did. That first inning was really ugly. Rightfielder Yudai Deguchi leadoff with an infield hit and was sacrificed to second. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez snapped on one real hard and seared it into the leftcenter alley for an RBI double. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to right. Johnson hit first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka with a pitch to juice the bags. But DH Noriyoshi Omichi grounded into a third to home force and catcher Kenji Johjima flied to left to keep it at 1-0 Daiei.

The Buffs then rolled Wakatabe for a three in the bottom of the inning. DH Kenshi Kawaguchi singled to right and second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi legged out a roller toward short. Leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes clocked a 2-0 fastball for a single to center to bring in Kawaguchi. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura cannonaded a curve ball for a double to leftcenter to drive in Mizuguchi and Rhodes for a 3-1 Kintetsu lead.

Daiei second baseman Tadahito Iguchi inaugurated the second with a bargain for souvenir hunters, a free baseball in the rightfield stands to make it 3-2.

An inning later, Kokubo rifled a first pitch curve ball into the centerfield bleachers to even it at 3-3.

The Buffs hitters didn't care for that at all and hung another three on the big board. With two away, Rhodes grounded to Iguchi, who geeked it for an error. Nakamura walked. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe singled to center to recall Rhodes. First baseman Yuji Yoshioka whizzed one down the leftfield line and Nakamura and Isobe both ran in to go up 6-3.

Like Johnson was going to keep that lead secure in the fourth. With one down, Iguchi legged out a bleeder toward third. One out later, Deguchi walked. Centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu then flared a double near the line in left and since they were running on contact, the speedy Deguchi and Iguchi scored to shrink the Kintetsu advantage back down to 6-5 and see
Johnson to the showers.

Kintetsu scrounged for a run in the home segment on a walk to shortstop Masahiro Abe, an attempted sac bunt by catcher Kenji Furukubo that reliever Masahiro Sakumoto unsuccessfully went to second on in hopes of getting a force, and a one out single to center by Mizuguchi and it was 7-5 Buffs.They added another one in the fifth, though the game log is too vague for me to figure out how it was done. So at the end of five complete, Kintetsu 8, Daiei 5.

In the eighth, the Buffs worked it for another pair of runs. With a man down, Kawaguchi walked and was pinch run for by Akihito Moritani, who then stole second. Pinch hitter Fumitoshi Takano then played jai lai with the leftfield wall to get Moritani home. He was pinch run for by Tadatoki Maeda. One out later, Nakamura singled to center and Maeda set the controls for the heart of home plate and there's your final score, 10-5 Kintetsu.

Buffaloes reliever Akahori, a five time winner of Japan's equivalent of the Fireman of the Year Award, will be eligible for free agency on the 14th at the age of 32. I suspect he will stay in Japan, especially with his injury history. He has 139 lifetime saves.

For Daiei, Valdez was 2-4 with an RBI and is at .299.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-5 with an RBI and is at .264.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Wakatabe (L, 6-5)     IP 2.2 PC 68 H 6 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 6 ER 3 ERA 3.21
Sakumoto                   IP 1.0 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.84
J. Hoshino                  IP 1.1 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.84
H.K. Watanabe          IP 1.1 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.33
S. Kimura                    IP 1.0 PC 26 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.45
S. Ogura                      IP 0.2 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.55

Kintetsu:

Johnson                   IP 3.2 PC 82 H 7 HR 2 K 1 BB 2 R 5 ER 5 ERA 7.02
T. Yoshida               IP 1.1 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.35
Misawa (W, 4-1)     IP 2.0 PC 26 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.62
A. Okamoto             IP 2.0 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.84

E: Iguchi, N. Nakamura
SB: Moritani
2B: P. Valdez 2, N. Nakamura, Yoshioka, Muramatsu, Takano
HR: Iguchi (14), Kokubo (22)
RBI: Muramatsu 2, P. Valdez,.Kokubo, Iguchi, Mizuguchi, Takano, Rhodes, N. Nakamura 3, Isobe, Yoshioka 2, N. Omura
IBB: N. Omura
HBP: Matsunaka (Johnson)

Season Series: Daiei 8, Kintetsu 9, 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:37
Attendance: 19,000
Umpires: Sato (HP), Higashi (2B), Yamamura (2B), Kodera (3B)

Lotte Officially Hot, as They Edge Nippon Ham 3-2

Chris Seelbach was fighting himself again in this start, needing 130 pitches to get through the sixth and leaving behind 2-1 to the Chiba Lotte Marines Friday at Chiba Marines Stadium. The Fighters managed to tie it in the top of the ninth to end Masahide Kobayashi's save string at 17, but then Hiroshi Shibakusa had some major problems in the tenth when he balked and then wild pitched the winning run across for one of the weirder endings to a game this year. A clinic this was not.

Nathan Minchey started for Lotte and was in some kind of trouble almost every inning, but managed to limit Nippon Ham to a run on eight hits while striking out six and walking three, though since Kobayashi blew the save, he got a no decision.

Nippon Ham shortstop Makoto Kaneko opened the game with a double off the leftfield wall and second baseman Ken Tanaka beat out a roller toward short. But Minchey whiffed the dangerous first sacker, Michihiro Ogasawara, DH D.T. Cromer lined out and third baseman Yukio Tanaka fanned to terminate the threat.

Minchey then surrendered the lone run of his stint in the second, as leftfielder Yutaka Nakamura singled to left and went to second on a groundout. Centerfielder Tatsuya Ide then singled to center and Nakamura headed in to make it 1-0 Fighters.

Minchey wriggled out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the third thanks to a double play ball and then another bases full, two out situation in the fourth and fifth innings. Talk about walking the tightrope! He finished his night's work with two perfect innings to give the home fans a break from the tension he was creating out there.

In the meantime, Lotte rallied to tie it in the fourth.With one out, Seelbach walked both third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba and leftfielder Kenji Morozumi. Following a groundout, catcher Takumi Shigi hit a groundball to Kaneko, who booted it to permit Hatsushiba to score and make it 1-1.

The very next inning, Lotte then pulled into the lead. With one out, centerfielder Saburo Omura drilled a shot off the centerfield wall for a double. One out later, DH Derrick May walked. Hatsushiba singled to left and Omura made the left turn and crossed the plate and it was 2-1 Lotte.

Things really settled down until the ninth, when Nippon Ham literally put the squeeze on Lotte. Kobayashi, who had a streak of 17 consecutive saves coming in, walked catcher Toshihiro Noguchi to begin the inning. Pinch hitter Hiroshi Narahara sacrificed him over to second. Kaneko singled to center. Nippon Ham manager Yasunori Oshima called for the squeeze and Ken Tanaka got it down just in front of the plate as Noguchi hit the dish. Shigi tried to nail Kaneko at second, but it was late and everybody was safe. But the next two men flied out to maintain the 2-2 standoff.

Kobayashi saw Yukio Tanaka carrom a shot off the leftfield wall for a leadoff double, but the versatile veteran stayed right there, as Kobayashi then induced a pop out to first and two strikeouts.

Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi came on to work the bottom of the tenth for Nippon Ham and got the first man he saw before walking the next two. Oshima then nominated Shibakusa to rectify things. He struckout pinch hitter Akira Otsuka, but then balked to move the runners to second and third while facing Morozumi. Rattled by that, the next pitch went past Noguchi and that was the ballgame, a 3-2 Lotte triumph, their fourth win a row.

For Nippon Ham, Cromer was 0-5 and is at .277. Sherman Obando walked in a pinch hit appearance and is at .267.

For Lotte, May was 1-3 with two walks and a stolen base and is at .259.

Pitching Lines:

Nippon Ham:

Seelbach                        IP 6.0 PC 130 H 4 HR 0 K 8 BB 4 R 2 ER 1 ERA 3.88
Sasaki                            IP 1.0 PC   17 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.03
Tateyama                      IP 2.0 PC   25 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.90
Shimoyanagi (L, 1-7)   IP 0.1 PC   15 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 7.64
Shibakusa                     IP 0.1 PC     8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.54

Lotte:

Minchey                           IP 7.0 PC 116 H 8 HR 0 K 6 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.26
Sikorsky                            IP 1.0 PC   13 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.91
M. Kobayashi (W, 2-1) IP 2.0 PC   34 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.29

E: Kaneko,
SB: May, Morozumi, K. Tanaka
2B: Kaneko, S. Omura 2, K. Tanaka, Y. Tanaka
RBI: K. Tanaka, Ide, Hatsushiba
WP: Shibakusa
Balk: Shibakusa
GIDP: Ueda

Season Series: Nippon Ham 4, Lotte 11

Game Time: 3:47
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Hirabayashi (HP), Tachibana (1B), Nakamura (2B), Akimura (3B)

Pursuing Koshien Spirit

See Asahi Shimbun article in english at: http://www.asahi.com/english/op-ed/K2002080900287.html

Doosan Gets Four Homers to Down SK in KBO Action

See Korea Times article at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200208/t2002080917373947110.htm

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for August 9th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1968, the 50th annual Koshien tournament was held and then crown prince (and now emperor) Akihito and his wife Michiko attended the opening game.

Also on that date in 1974, aluminum bats were used for the first time in a Koshien tournament. In the first three games, there were 16 extra base hits and 13 of them were with the metal implements. God, I hate those things.

Also on that date in 1987, Chunichi Dragons rookie southpaw Shinichi Kondo, a number one draft choice barely out of Nagoya's Kyoei High School at the age of 18, made his debut with the big club at Nagoya Stadium just after being promoted from the minors the previous day and tossed a no hitter against the Yomiuri Giants (final score 6-0, with Hiromitsu Ochiai's two homers leading the way) to make him the only pitcher to ever throw a no no in his first ever pro start and he was the youngest at the time to do have fashioned a goose egg in the hits column. This was a lineup that had Warren Cromartie in it and he finished the 116 pitch tour de force with 13 strikeouts and two walks. He then took a no hitter into the eighth inning of his next start. Wow!

When he was drafted, they thought that with a good fastball and a fine overhand curve ball that he could be the next Kimiyasu Kudoh. Two months after the no hitter, Kondo tossed a four hit shutout against the Giants. After two years with Chunichi, he hurt his shoulder and had it operated on at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood California and then announced his retirement at age 20. It should be noted, too, that he had hurt his elbow in high school before turning pro. But he then apparently reversed that announcement and managed to stay with the Dragons for six more seasons, mostly spent in the minors, and he never had much success. He would make just 24 starts in his eight season career and 52 total appearances, going 12-17 with four shutouts, a save, and a 3.90 ERA in 217 lifetime innings. He is now a section chief in the club's scouting department. You can see a picture of him on the night in question at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/tigers/hoshino/0201/image/0129kondo_MS193128_b.jpg
And one of his baseball cards at: http://www.nagoyanet.ne.jp/dra/88/88-293.jpg

Incidentally, for those wondering, the St. Louis Browns righthander Bobo Holloman was 28 when he made his debut and threw a no hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 6, 1953.

Data from Jimmy's Strike Zone, Pro Yakyuu Kiroku Hakubutsuan, Watashi wo Yakyu ni Tsurete and Sankei Sports.

August 8, 2002

Nakane Homer Enough for Bowers to Beat Giants 1-0

Yokohama Bay Stars righthander Shane Bowers threw his best game ever in his two Japanese seasons, as he fashioned an eight hit 1-0 complete game shutout of the Yomiuri Giants at Yokohama Stadium Thursday. Moreover, the ex-Minnesota Twin is now the all time leader among Yokohama's foreign hurlers with his seventh lifetime victory. Yeah, I found that hard to believe, too, so I checked it and it is indeed true. He just surpassed Joe Stanka, who won six in 1966 (while losing 13, incidently, with a 4.18 ERA).

Yusaku Iriki started for the Giants and tossed seven outstanding innings of one run, five hit ball to lose his third of the year against four wins.

The Stars blew a men on second and third, one out opportunity in the second and the Giants frittered away a one out bases loaded chance in the top of the fourth. Yokohama then got the only run it needed when, in the bottom of the inning, centerfielder Hitoshi Nakane leadoff by crushing a first pitch slider through the 42 mile an hour wind that was blowing left to right and deposited it in the leftcenterfield seats for a 1-0 lead.

Bowers just totally dominated from that point until the top of the ninth, when he had some minor trouble. Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe leadoff with a single to right, but was forced at second by centerfielder Godzilla Matsui. First baseman Takayuki Saito singled to center. Third baseman Akira Etoh popped to short. Rightfielder Koji Goto then lifted a little fly ball down the third base line in foul territory and it was gathered in by Mike Gulan for the final out.

Bowers, who was 3-13 last season while being dogged by injury, had reportedly resolved to try his luck in Korea if he had another season like 2001. He didn't get off to too promising a start, beginning the season in the minors, but lately he's looked quite good. He added a forkball to his arsenal upon joining the Stars last year to give hitters something else to think about. The 1-0 shutout of the Giants he threw is the first by that score against the kyojin produced by a foreign pitcher since Scott Anderson of the Chunichi Dragons did it in 1991. He is also only the third foreign pitcher for Yokohama to pull off nine innings of zeroes, joining Chris Holt on July 16th and Mike Birkbeck in 1995.

For Yokohama, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 0-4 and is at .282. Gulan was 1-2 with a walk and is at .236.

Pitching Lines:

Yomiuri:

Y. Iriki (L, 4-3) IP 7.0 PC 111 H 5 HR 1 K 8 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.54
Okajima IP 1.0 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.19

Yokohama:

Bowers (W, 4-2) IP 9.0 PC 111 H 8 HR 0 K 4 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.08

2B: Gulan
HR: Nakane (2)
RBI: Nakane
IBB: Nakane

Season Series: Yomiuri 13, Yokohama 5

Game Time: 2:50
Attendance: 27,000
Umpires: Sasaki (HP), Ino (1B), Fukatani (2B), Kamimoto (3B)

Triple Play Helps Moore Notch Eighth Win 7-4

Hanshin Tigers lefthander Trey Moore didn't pitch that well Thursday at Hiroshima Stadium, allowing three runs on ten hits in five innings, but it was better than what the opposition offered and he was helped by his team's first triple play in 31 years to even his record at 8-8 in a 7-4 Tigers victory. For a change, The Tigers middle relief was largely able to hold the line, giving up one run on one hit over the last four innings to decide it for the party from Osaka. Makoto Imaoka lead the way for the offense, as he mashed a three run homer in the second inning. Catcher Akihiro Yano also chipped in with a homer and two RBIs.

The Tigers got off to a fast start with a pair of runs in the first. With one down, centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to left and stole second. Leftfielder Koji Hirashita singled to right. Rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka grounded to third, but Takahiro Arai booted it and Akahoshi hustled in. First baseman Atsushi Kataoka then slapped his first hit with runners in scoring position in 16 games and 62 at bats to center and it was 2-0 Hanshin.

Hiroshima halved that gap in the home half when centerfielder Koichi Ogata singled to right and was sacrificed to second. One out later, leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center and Ogata motored in to make it 2-1.

Imaoka applied the most important blow of this game as part of a Hanshin rally in the second. With one away, Yano singled to center and so did Moore. Imaoka checked in and then got real gone to left and Hanshin was firmly in control at 5-1.

In the third, Kataoka walked and, one out later, was sacrificed to second. Yano then went bomb's away to rightcenter off of reliever Koji Hiroike for a 7-1 Tigers lead.

The Carp took their turn and things looked ominous when Ogata leadoff with a single to center and shortstop Higashide singled to left. But second baseman Eddie Diaz hit a hard groundball right at Kentaro Sekimoto at third. He stepped on the bag, whipped it over to Imaoka, who fired to first to get Diaz, who runs fairly well, to end the inning. All the other Japanese teams had at least one triple play during the Heisei Era (which began in 1988) except for Hanshin. The last time the Tigers had turned a triple killing was against the Giants on June 5, 1971, on a line drive to the second baseman, who beat the retreating runner to the second base bag for the second out and then gunned it to first to get the runner going back there.

In the fourth, Hiroshima swooped in for two runs when first baseman Luis Lopez doubled down the leftfield line with one gone and Arai dialed Ibaraki 6-5000 to rightcenter with two away on a Moore pitch to make it 7-3.

Shinji Taninaka replaced Moore after the former Brave had been touched for singles by the first two men in the sixth inning and retired the next three batters to kill that little revolt, but then Ogata belted one over the leftcenterfield fence to leadoff the seventh before Taninaka, who has appeared in seven of the last ten contests, did away with the next trio of Carp hitters and handed it to Takehito Kanazawa, and he, along with Makoto Yoshino and Mark Valdez, no hit Hiroshima over the final two stanzas to put Hanshin in the winner's circle.

For Hanshin, Moore was 1-3 and is at .261.

For Hiroshima, Diaz, who told reporters after the game that he had never hit into a triple play in his life, was 0-4 and is at .288. Lopez was 2-4 and is at .243.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Moore (W, 8-8)         IP 5.0 PC 84 H 10 HR 1 K 2 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.42
Taninaka                    IP 2.0 PC 26 H   1 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.51
Kanazawa                  IP 0.1 PC   5 H   0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.81
Yoshino                     IP 0.1 PC   3 H   0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Valdez (S, 16)      IP 1.1 PC 34 H   0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.47

Hiroshima:

Tsuruta (L, 2-5)   IP 2.0 PC 44 H 7 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 5 ER 3 ERA 6.30
Hiroike                  IP 2.0 PC 33 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.41
Amano                 IP 2.0 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
K. Kobayashi      IP 2.0 PC 18 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Tamaki                  IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.66

E: Diaz, Lopez, Arai
SB: Akahoshi
2B: Lopez
HR: Imaoka (10), Yano (6), Ogata (15), Arai (19)
RBI: Imaoka 3, Kataoka, Yano 2, Ogata, Kanemoto, Arai 2
GIDP: Sekimoto
GITP: Diaz

Season Series: Hanshin 10, Hiroshima 8

Game Time: 3:02
Attendance: 17,000
Umpires: Manabe (HP), T. Kobayashi (1B), Kittaka (2B), K. Kobayashi (3B)

Onishi Sayonara Single Downs Swallows 4-3

This game perhaps proves that one person can't do everything themselves. Yakult leftfielder Alex Ramirez got the Swallows off to a 1-0 lead with a second inning homer and then, when the team fell behind 3-1, he brought them back to tie with a two run blast in the sixth. However, it was ultimately the Chunichi Dragons who won the night when they turned three singles and an intentional walk into a sayonara victory in the bottom of the tenth Tursday at Nagoya Dome.

Kenshin Kawakami started for the Dragons and while he only allowed two runs, gave up nine hits, walked two and hit a batter in six innings and was in trouble just about every inning. Swallows starter Shugo Fujii saw three of the opposition score on his six inning watch on eight hits while also walking three. He was in some kind of dilemma in every inning and was very lucky to escape with as low a run total as he did.

After Fujii pitched out of a men on first and second and two out situation in the bottom of the first, Ramirez killed a Kawakami offering for his 18th of the season, a drive over the rightcenterfield fence, to make it 1-0 Swallows.

The Dragons had a man on second in the top of the second on a one out double down the leftfield line by Takayuki Onishi, but Fujii then got the next two hitters on comebackers. He wouldn't escape the third without damage, though. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata leadoff with a single to center and was forced at second on a groundball to third. Rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome then jacked a Fujii delivery beyond the rightfield fence to make it 2-1 Dragons.

The next inning, Fujii was rocked again, this time on a leadoff single to left by Hiroyuki Watanabe and a triple to the rightcenterfield wall from Onishi to expand that Dragons advantage to 3-1. Incredibly, Fujii went on to strand Onishi by fanning Hidenori Kuramoto, inducing a groundout to short with the infield up from Kawakami and luring Ibata into grounding to second.

In the sixth, Yakult made it a new ballgame when first baseman Roberto Petagine singled to left and Ramirez flattened another Kawakami selection and made it disappear via leftcenter to gridlock it at 3-3.

Fujii pitched out of a men on first and second, one out pinch in the bottom of the frame and spent the remainder of the evening on the bench watching both bullpens perform brilliantly until the bottom of the tenth, when the Dragons applied the fatal stroke against Shinji Matsuda and Masato Hanada. Fukudome leadoff with a single to right and third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami followed suit. Matsuda was replaced by Hanada and he intentionally walked catcher Motonobu Tanishige to set up a force at every base. Watanabe popped up in foul territory to Petagine for an out. Onishi then dug in and cracked a shot through the right side of the infield to plate Fukudome with the winning run for a 4-3 final.

Dragons infielder Omar Linares is now going to be out at least two weeks since, in addition to the hamstring problem, he also has a gimpy knee. But the team is more concerned about the health of righthander Melvin Bunch. The ex-Mariner began to feel dizzy and experienced a rapid heartbeat on the drive over to the ballpark the other day and, after being hospitalized overnight as a precautionary measure, has been taken off the active roster. He then went back to the states to have his condition examined. It is entirely possible he will miss the balance of the season, but that is speculation at this point. You can bet that after the Darryl Kile incident Bunch's doctor is going to test him from here to next Tuesday.

For Yakult, Petagine was 1-4 with a walk and is at .318. Alex Ramirez was 3-5 with three RBIs and is at .304.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

S. Fujii                           IP 6.0 PC 117 H 8 HR 1 K 3 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.03
H. Ishii                          IP 2.0 PC   25 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.13
Kawabata                     IP 1.0 PC   16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.18
S. Matsuda (L, 0-2)     IP 0.0 PC     6 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.08
Hanada                         IP 0.1 PC     8 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75

Chunichi:

Kawakami               IP 6.0 PC 110 H 9 HR 2 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.63
Ochiai                      IP 1.0 PC   11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.53
Iwase                       IP 2.0 PC   22 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.32
Endo (W, 4-1)          IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.89

2B: Fukudome, Dobashi, Onishi, H.Y. Watanabe
3B: Onishi
HR: Ramirez 2 (19), Fukudome (13)
RBI: Ramirez 3, Fukudome 2, Onishi 2
IBB: Tanishige
HBP: K. Ono (Kawakami)
GIDP: K. Ono

Season Series: Yakult 11, Chunichi 8

Game Time: 3:59
Attendance: 34,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Watada (1B), Tomoyori (2B), Mori (3B)

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for August 8th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1958, Shuri High School from Okinawa made the first appearance of any high school from that island in the Koshien Summer High School Baseball Tournament. However, when the school was defeated and the students went home with samples of dirt from that hallowed ground, it ran afoul of the quarrentine laws and the kids were forced to throw the samples away. Don't you just love government bureaucrats?

August 7, 2002

Hamanaka Grand Slam Highlights Hanshin Trouncing of Hiroshima

Hanshin Tigers rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka made his first ever homer at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium a big one, as he put the good wood on a sixth pitch 1-2 fastball from Carp reliever Kanei Kobayashi in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded and sent it into the leftfield seats to break the game open and propel the Osaka club to a 9-2 victory. It was also the first grand slam of Hamanaka's career. Veteran sidearmer Tetsuro Kawajiri picked up his second victory of the season with seven excellent innings of six hit, one run ball, striking out six and walking only one.

Southpaw Takaya Kawauchi started for Hiroshima and while behind, 2-0, had thrown a strong six innings on five hits until the seventh, when the roof fell in on him. In all, he was charged with six runs, all earned, on seven hits, striking out eight and walking three.

The Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, when 40 year old first baseman Katsumi Hirosawa took Kawauchi over the rightfield wall and just inside the foul pole to make it 1-0 Hanshin.

Then in the fifth, second baseman Makoto Imaoka picked on a first pitch 89mph fastball and went yard to right as well and it was 2-0 Tigers.

Kawauchi got centerfielder Taichiro Kamisaka to ground to second to begin the seventh, but then he couldn't get anyone out. Catcher Akihiro Yano singled to center. Kawauchi then committed the cardinal sin,and no, I'm not talking molesting members of the parish, by walking the pitcher, Kawajiri. Imaoka whistled a shot into the rightcenter alley to plate Yano. Shortstop Yoshinori Okihara walked to pack the sacks and Kawauchi was done. Kobayashi strolled in and got pinch hitter Hiroshi Yagi to fly out, but then he left a cookie to Hamanaka and you know what happened and it was 7-0
Hanshin.

Kawajiri then threw something he shouldn't have to Hiroshima rightfielder Tomonori Maeda to leadoff the bottom of the inning and Maeda turned it into a souvenir for the folks in the rightfield stands and it was 7-1 Tigers.

In the bottom of the eighth, Carp centerfielder Koichi Ogata doubled into the leftfield corner and shortstop Akihiro Higashide singled to left off of Shinobu Fukuhara to make it
7-2.

But Hiroshima's fourth reliever, Masato Kawano, couldn't get a handle on his control and Hanshin took advantage in the ninth. With one down, third baseman Atsushi Kataoka and Hamanaka both walked. Backup third baseman Shuta Tanaka singled to left for an RBI. Substitute centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to left to juice the bags. One out later, Yano beat out a tapper and it was 9-2 Tigers. Masashi Date then needed only nine pitches to put Hiroshima away in the ninth and it was "game setto."

Hamanaka's granny was his first longball in 19 at bats since being inserted into the number four hole three games ago. It was also the fourth "manrui" clout for the team in 2002, the most by a Hanshin nine since 1997. The team record is eight, which was set in 1977, when first baseman Hal Breeden slugged three, catcher Shinnosuke Kataoka two (note: Kataoka only had 36 career homers in 14 seasons) and three others one apiece.

For Hiroshima, second baseman Eddie Diaz was 0-4 and is at .292.

For Hanshin. leftfielder Derrick White was 1-4 and is at .229.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

Kawajiri (W, 2-2)   IP 7.0 PC 98 H 6 HR 1 K 6 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.62
Fukuhara                IP 0.2 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.67
Yoshino                  IP 0.1 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Date                        IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.94

Hiroshima:

Kawauchi (L, 1-3)   IP 6.1 PC 111 H 7 HR 2 K 8 BB 3 R 6 ER 6 ERA 4.01
K. Kobayashi          IP 0.2 PC   18 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.57
Amano                     IP 1.0 PC   11 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Kawano                   IP 1.0 PC   42 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 14.14

E: Arai, Nishiyama
SB: Kanemoto
2B: Okihara, Imaoka, Ogata
HR: Hirosawa (1), Imaoka (9), Hamanaka (17), T. Maeda (13)
RBI: Imaoka 2, Hamanaka 4, Hirosawa, Tanaka, Yano, T. Maeda
HBP: K. Kimura (Date)
GIDP: Diaz

Season Series: Hanshin 9, Hiroshima 8

Game Time: 3:24
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Honda (HP), Kittaka (1B), K. Kobayashi (2B), Manabe (3B)

Giants Takahashi Hammered in Loss to Yokohama

Yomiuri Gianats lefthander Hisanori Takahashi, who has been a very pleasant surprise this season for the Tokyo side, had one of those days all pitchers have, as he was ripped up for six earned runs on eight hits in seven innings by the Yokohama Bay Stars at Yokohama Stadium to absorb just his second loss of the season 7-4. Centerfielder Hitoshi Nakane, recently returned from a stint among the injured, homered in the sixth and catcher Takeshi Nakamura and first baseman Hirofumi Ogawa each collected two RBIs apiece to pace the attack.

Domingo Guzman started for the Stars and he was roughed up for four runs, three earned, in 4.1 innings and got a no decision. Instead, Yone was awarded the shiroboshi after 1.2 innings of one hit ball while Yokoyama scooped up his first save in two years.

Yokohama burst out of the box in the first with both guns blazing, putting Takahashi on his heels right away. Shortstop Takuro Ishii leadoff with a single to right and went to second on a sac bunt. Takahashi plunked leftfielder Takanori Suzuki. Rightfielder Boi Rodrigues scorched one down the rightfield line to easily drive in Ishii. Ogawa singled to center to push both Suzuki and Rodrigues in. One out later, Nakane walked. Nakamura singled to center and it was 4-0 Stars.

The Giants shaved one off of that deficit in the fourth when shortstop Mototsugu Kawanaka singled to left and catcher Shinnosuke Abe singled to left. Centerfielder Hideki Matsui walked to load the bases. One out later, Akira Etoh hit a little dribbler near the mound. By the time Guzman got to it, Kawanaka had scored and so Guzman threw to first for the out on the ponderous Etoh and it was 4-1 Yokohama.

Yokohama got it back, however, in the home portion, as Nakamura singled to right and Guzman beat out a roller toward third. Ishii then outran another tapper to load the bases. Makoto Fukumoto grounded out to the rightside and Nakamura crossed to make it 5-1 Stars.

Yomiuri, though, didn't quit and threw a three up on the board in the fifth. With one down, Guzman walked Takahashi. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to left. Kawanaka singled to right to jam the basepaths. Abe singed to right and Takahashi and Shimizu galloped in. Guzman was replaced by Ryuichi Kawahara. Matsui slammed a shot down the rightfield line to recall Kawanaka to make it a one run ballgame at 5-4. Yone was summoned from the pen and obtained the next two outs on a popup and a flyout to preserve the Stars lead.

In the sixth, Nakane cleared one for takeoff and landed it in the rightfield seats to enlarge the Yokohama advantage to 6-4.

Two innings later and with one down, Nakane tried to leave again, the ball striking the centerfield fence for a double. Nakamura then sizzled one up the rightcenter alley to deliver Nakane to make it 7-4.

Yokoyama, seeing that his forkball wan't working at all, stuck mainly with fastballs and struckout two of the four men he faced in the ninth to bring down the curtain.

Abe, who is hitting .315 after a 3-4 night, is now 5-8 in bases loaded situations this season with 12 RBIs. THAT kids, is getting it done! Matsui was 3-4 with a walk and an RBI to raise his average to .342.

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 1-4 with an RBI and is at .286. Third baseman Mike Gulan was was 0-4 and is at .233.

Pitching Lines:

Yomiuri:

H. Takahashi (L, 8-2) IP 7.0 PC 127 H 8 HR 1 K 7 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.33
R. Kimura IP 1.0 PC 21 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 13.50

Yokohama:

Guzman                         IP 4.1 PC 91 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 4 ER 3 ERA 6.00
R. Kawahara                 IP 0.0 PC   7 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86
Yone (W, 1-0)               IP 1.2 PC 20 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.06
Morinaka                      IP 2.0 PC 24 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.18
Y. Yokoyama (S, 1)      IP 1.0 PC 22 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.50

E: T. Nakamura, Kawanaka, Nioka
2B: Rodrigues, H. Matsui 2, Nakane, T. Nakamura
HR: Nakane (1)
RBI: S. Abe, H. Matsui, Fukumoto, Rodrigues, Ogawa 2, Nakane, T. Nakamura 2
HBP: T. Suzuki (H. Takahashi)
GIDP: Motoki

Season Series: Yomiuri 13, Yokohama 4

Game Time: 3:35
Attendance: 27,000
Umpires: Watamari (HP), Fukatani (1B), Kamimoto (2B), Sasaki (3B)

Iwamura Three Run Homer Does in Vargas, Dragons

Yakult Swallows rookie Masanori Ishikawa limited the Chunichi Dragons to two runs on eight hits over eight innings, ringing up a career high in strikeouts with eight, as third baseman Akinori Iwamura drilled his 16th homer of the year, good for three runs, in a 5-2 Swallows victory. Ishikawa was credited with his seventh win against six losses. Martin Vargas, the ex-Cleveland Indian, permitted four runs in seven innings on seven hits, striking out nine and walking one to take his second loss.

With the Giants losing, the Swallows badly needed to grab a win to crawl within striking distance of the Central League leaders and to that end rightfielder Atsunori Inaba connected on a fastball that was right down broadway with two outs in the fourth and drove it over the leftfield fence to break up what had been a superb pitching duel and make it 1-0 Yakult. By the way, Vargas struckout the side in that inning.

The Dragons knotted it in the sixth, as third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami singled to right with one out and Tanishige found some empty real estate on the right side of the field as well, Tatsunami hotfooting it for third. Dragons manager Hisashi Yamada then called for the squeeze and first baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe laid one down to push the tying run in and make it 1-1.

But Vargas let it get away from him in the seventh. Yakult First baseman Roberto Petagine commenced it with a double to leftcenter. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to center. Iwamura then launched one over the centerfield fence and just like that it was 4-1 Swallows.

In the eighth, the Swallows scratched out a run even though two of their hits didn't leave the infield. Inaba leadoff by bouncing one toward second and legged it out. Petagine singled to center and Inaba made a beeline for third and got there safely. Two outs later, catcher Kosei Ono beat out a little roller by the mound and Inaba hustled in to make it 5-1 Yakult.

The Dragons came up for their final at bat in the ninth and saw a chance to rally evaporate on a double play ball. Onishi walked and stole second. Hidenori Kuramoto beat out a bunt. Ryota Igarashi was called in to relieve Ishikawa. Masahiko Morino grounded into a 1-6-3 twin killing as Onishi hit the dish and Ibata struckout to end it at 5-2.

Omar Linares sat this one out due to a hamstring problem.

For Yakult, Petagine was 2-5 with two strikeouts and is at .319. Ramirez was 1-4 and is at .299.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Masanori Ishikawa (W, 7-6)IP 8.0 PC 124 H 8 HR 0 K 8 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.83
R. Igarashi (S, 2) IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.53

Chunichi:

Vargas (L, 1-2) IP 7.0 PC 106 H 7 HR 2 K 9 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.66
Yamakita IP 2.0 PC 39 H 5 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.63

SB: Onishi, Araki
2B: Fukudome, H.Y. Watanabe, Petagine
HR: Inaba (4), Iwamura (16)
RBI: Inaba, Iwamura 3, K. Ono, H.Y. Watanabe
GIDP: Morino

Season Series: Yakult 11, Chunichi 7

Game Time: 3:10
Attendance: 34,000
Umpires: Kiuchi (HP), Tomoyori (1B), Mori (2B), Kasahara (3B)

Cabrera, Wada Each Slug Two Homers in Seibu Rout of Kintetsu

The Seibu Lions gave starter Hsu Ming-chieh lots of run support Wednesday at Osaka Dome, as first baseman Alex Cabrera unleashed two homers, one another epic tape measure shot, and DH Kazuhiro Wada did likewise, each driving in three runs, to stomp the Kintetsu Buffaloes 12-4. Hsu did not pitch well at all, being hammered for 12 hits and four earned runs in 6.2 innings, but sometimes it's better to be lucky than good and his record has finally evened out at 5-5.

Meanwhile, over in the other dugout, Buffs starter Hiroshi Takamura lasted a mere three innings and was beaten up for six runs, all earned, as was his successor, Hideo Koike in two innings on the hill, to take the brunt of the Lions fury.

Cabrera got the ball rolling (maybe I should say, "flying"?), as he destroyed a Takamura delivery in the second, damaging a seat in the tenth row of the fifth level in leftcenterfield, a shot estimated at 490 feet, to make it 1-0 Lions.

Takamura was then splattered in the third to get the rout going for real. Second baseman Hiroyuki Takagi leadoff with a single to right. One out later, rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki walked. Leftfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji doubled into the rightcenter alley and Takagi and Ozeki sprinted all the way around for a 3-0 Lions lead. Cabrera then turned a little too soon on a Takamura pitch and got it off the end of the bat, but the ball ended
up landing in the first row of the leftfield bleachers and it was 5-0 Seibu. Wada followed that with a drive into the rightfield stands for a 6-0 Lions advantage.

And there was more where that came from, as Seibu went back on the chain gang in the fourth. Catcher Tsutomu Itoh doubled down the leftfield line off of Koike. Takagi legged out a tapper toward third. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui singled to left to deliver Itoh. One out later, Miyaji tripled off the centerfield wall for two more. Cabrera was intentionally walked, something that even the Buffs fans didn't care for and they booed to let Kintetsu manager Masataka Nashida know how they felt. Miyaji came home on a wild pitch. Wada then made Nashida pay for walking Cabrera to get to him by flaming one beyond the leftfield fence and it was now 12-0 Lions.

Kintetsu came back to put a couple on the board in their half when third baseman Norihiro Nakamura doubled to leftcenter with one out and DH Kenshi Kawaguchi singled to center to get him in. One out later, centerfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to left and shortstop Masahiro Abe singled to center for the RBI and it was 12-2 Seibu.

Hsu escaped a bases loaded, two out predicament in the sixth, but was hit around in the seventh. Rightfielder Akihito Moritani opened things with a single to center. Backup shortstop Tadatoki Maeda tripled to rightcenter to cash in Moritani. One out later, Nakamura singled to center and Maeda came home to shorten the Seibu advantage to 12-4. One out later, first baseman Yuji Yoshioka doubled down the leftfield line and Lions manager Haruki Ihara had seen enough, dialing local for Mizuo, who went on to twirl 2.1 perfect innings and put this one in the history books.

Cabrera's son Ramon, 12, a shortstop back home in Venezuela, took some batting practice before the game and hit one an estimated 315 feet. Looks like there's another slugger in the Cabrera household. The youngster also hit it off with Kintetsu leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes and the ex-Cub presented Ramon with some baseball equipment as a present.

There's also some good news in the Hsu household, as he and his wife just welcomed their first child into the world, a daughter named Wei-jien (I hope that I transliterated that correctly from the Japanese katakana spelling).

For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-4 with a walk and three RBIs and is at .305. He has 11 multi-homer games now in Japan. Third baseman Tom Evans was 1-4 and is at .250.

For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-4 and is at .265.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Hsu (W, 5-5) IP 6.2 PC 114 H 12 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.97
Mizuo IP 2.1 PC 23 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80

Kintetsu:

Takamura (L, 6-5) IP 3.0 PC 60 H 6 HR 3 K 3 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.28
Koike                      IP 2.0 PC 51 H 6 HR 1 K 0 BB 2 R 6 ER 6 ERA 5.94
Misawa                  IP 2.0 PC 26 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.82
S. Yamamoto         IP 2.0 PC 31 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.95

E: M. Abe
2B: Miyaji, Furukubo, T. Itoh, N. Nakamura, Yoshioka
3B: Miyaji, T.T. Maeda
HR: Cabrera 2 (32), Wada 2 (18)
RBI: K. Matsui, Miyaji 4, Cabrera 3, Wada 3, T.T. Maeda, N. Nakamura, Kawaguchi,
M. Abe
IBB: Cabrera
WP: Koike
HBP: M. Abe (Hsu)
GIDP: Yoshioka,

Season Series: Seibu 9, Kintetsu 9

Game Time: 3:13
Attendance: 19,000
Umpires: Sugimoto (HP), Hayashi (1B), Kakigizono (2B), Fujimoto (3B)

Raggio Pummeled in 7-3 Daiei Defeat

Brady Raggio joined the parade of Daiei starters who can't last even five innings Wednesday at Chiba Marine Stadium, as he received a good kicking over two innings of six run ball to drop his fourth of the year against five victories in a 7-3 Chiba Lotte Marines triumph. The Hawks have run up five consecutive defeats while Lotte have taken their last three. I think it's safe to say that Daiei, who I picked to win the pennant, are waiting 'til next year at this point.

Daiei centerfielder Yudai Deguchi leadoff the game with an infield hit and went to second on a groundout. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled to center and third baseman Hiroki Kokubo steamed a two bagger down the rightfield line to usher in Deguchi and give Daiei a 1-0 lead. Lotte starter Kosuke Kato, who had an okay outing, then got out of the inning by inducing a pair of ground balls.

In the second, though, Lotte had some fun with Raggio. With two gone, Takashi Tachikawa singled to right and rookie catcher Toshiya Tsuji walked. Tadaharu Sakai singled to right for the tying run. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka tripled off the rightfield fence and then crossed himself on a single to center from centerfielder Saburo Omura and it was 4-1 Lotte.

Deguchi began the third by homering to rightcenter to catalyze a Hawks uprising. Rightfielder Motoi Okoshi walked. Valdez singled to right. Kokubo walked to bloat the bags (now THERE is an image). First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka flied out to right and Okoshi tagged and jogged in to make it 4-3.

Lotte immediately answered in their ups when, after DH Derrick May was hit by Raggio, Hatsushiba bigtimed a Raggio pitch for a big fly to dead center and a 6-3 Lotte lead.

Sakai built on that with a center backscreen rocket of his own to begin the fourth and it was 7-3 Lotte.

In the seventh, the Hawks endeavord to get their offensive engine to kick over and it conked out on them. With one down, infielder Takeshi Nonogaki singled to right. Deguchi laced a shot down the rightfield line. But Okoshi grounded to third and the runners held. Valdez walked to pack the sacks. However, Kokubo flew out harmlessly and that was their last stand of the match.

How big is baseball on the island of Kyushu? 47,000 fans turned out for a MINOR LEAGUE game at Fukuoka Dome, a record for a lower level faceoff. Incredible.

For Lotte, May was 0-3 with and an HBP and is at .258. Geez, when is Frank Bolick going to be back? Press reports had indicated that he would be back soon after the all star break, but no other news so far.

For Daiei, Valdez was 2-3 with two walks and is at .296.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Raggio (L, 5-4)    IP 2.0 PC 50 H 6 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 6 ER 6 ERA 5.10
Sakumoto            IP 2.1 PC 48 H 5 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.69
J. Hoshino           IP 1.2 PC 25 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.90
S. Kimura             IP 1.0 PC 20 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
S. Ogura              IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.10

Lotte:

K. Kato (W, 6-9)   IP 6.2 PC 111 H 8 HR 1 K 5 BB 4 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.17
H. Kobayashi       IP 1.1 PC   20 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.98
Sikorsky                IP 1.0 PC   15 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.96

E: Okoshi, Hatsushiba
SB: Muramatsu
2B: Kokubo, Morozumi, S. Omura, Deguchi
3B: Kosaka
RBI: Deguchi, Kokubo, Matsunaka, Kosaka 2, S. Omura, Hatsushiba 2, T. Sakai 2
SF: Matsunaka
HBP: May (Raggio), Tachikawa (Sakumoto)
GIDP: Taguchi, Kokubo, Shigi

Season Series: Daiei 12, Lotte 7

Game Time: 3:34
Attendance: 22,000
Umpires: Tachibana (HP), Kawaguchi (1B), Yanagida (2B), Hirabayashi (3B)

Oshima Leaves Shoda in Too Long and Loses to Orix

Nippon Ham starter Itsuki Shoda had thrown in excess of 130 pitches through eight innings while working on a two hit 3-0 shutout. Fighters manager Yasunori Oshima sent Shoda out for the ninth and he got the first out, gave up a single and then got the second out. And that was the last man he was able to retire, as the Orix Blue Wave rallied for six runs to win it 6-3. In all, Shoda went home on 155 occasions and Hiroshi Shibakusa, who came in with the score 3-2, threw another 12 in an unsuccessful attempt to stem the Blue Wave attack.

Masahiko Kaneda started for Orix and threw fairly well, going seven innings and surrendering three runs on six hits, though he didn't get a decision due to Shoda's early brilliance.

Nippon Ham got all their runs in the third, as shortstop Makoto Kaneko homered to leftcenter with two away to ignite it. First baseman Michihiro Ogasawara legged out an infield bleeder. Third baseman Yukio Tanaka and DH Takaya Hayashi walked to load the bases. Leftfielder Seigo Fujishima wacked a shot off the glove of first baseman Fernando Seguignol and as the ball trickled away Ogasawara and Tanaka both crossed for a 3-0 Fighter lead. Fujishima's knock was indeed ruled a hit.

Shoda was back on the mound for the ninth and ultimately wouldn't close the deal. Shortstop Makoto Shiozaki grounded out to short for the first out. Second baseman Koichi Oshima singled to right. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani grounded into a 6-4 force play. DH Scott Sheldon singled to left. Seguignol walked to pack the sacks. Rightfielder Ryota Aikawa lashed a double down the leftfield line to make it 3-2. Shibakusa was given the ball. Pinch hitter Yuji Goshima took the fifth pitch from Shibakusa and zapped it down the leftfield line and Seguignol scored with the equalizer and Aikawa checked in with the go ahead tally. Catcher Takeshi Hidaka singled to center to convert Goshima and then came all the way around when centerfielder Tatsuya Ide let the ball get through him and all the way to the wall and it was 6-3 Orix.

Jun Hagiwara then struckout two of the three men he saw in the bottom of the inning for his second save.

For Orix, Sheldon was 1-4 and is at .260. Seguignol struckout three times and walked and is at .209.

Pitching Lines:

Orix:

Kaneda                        IP 7.0 PC 119 H 6 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.43
Kobayashi (W, 2-0)   IP 1.0 PC   20 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.07
J. Hagiwara (S, 2)       IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.23

Nippon Ham:

Shoda (L, 3-7) IP 8.2 PC 155 H 5 HR 0 K 7 BB 3 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.50
Shibakusa IP 0.1 PC 12 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 4.58

E: Shiozaki, Ide
2B: Shiozaki, Ryota Aikawa, Goshima
HR: Kaneko (6)
RBI: Ryota Aikawa 2, Goshima 2, Hidaka, Kaneko, Fujishima 2
HBP: Y. Tanaka (Kaneda)
GIDP: Hayakawa

Season Series: Orix 7, Niuppon Ham 10 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:03
Attendance: 10,000
Umpires: Yamazaki (HP), Akimura (1B), Sakaemura (2B), Nakamura (3B)

Koshien Summer Tournament Opens

The 84th Annual National Summer High School Baseball Tournament held at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture opened today with opening ceremonies in front of 25,000. 49 schools will faceoff in single elimination games for baseball supremacy among high schoolers in Japan in front of capacity or near sellout crowds while most of the games will be televised live across the country. .

The first contest of the tournament was played following the ceremonies, with Teikyo High (from eastern Tokyo) beating Chubu Commercial High School (Okinawa) 11-8. Teikyo now advances to the second round.

Among the tens of thousands who will flock to the various tilts will be scouts from both the Japanese pro leagues and MLB wanting to get a final glimpse of the youngsters before the November Japanese pro draft.

Nippon Ham Subsidiary Indicted

See Japan Tuimes story at: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020808a1.htm

And the parent company is attempting to avoid responsibility by laying it all on the subsidiary at: http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002080800441.html

Also, more on the scandal at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020808wo25.htm

KBO Sends Dream Team to Asian Games

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200208/t2002080717254447110.htm

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for August 7th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1963, umpire Nakane received threatening hate mail at his house after he ejected Kintetsu Buffaloes infielder Jack Bloomfield for going into the stands and punching out a fan. I couldn't find the reason why Bloomfield did it, though I remember reading about it elsewhere.

August 6, 2002

Wada's Two Homers Slow Kintetsu Surge 4-3

Seibu Lions DH Kazuhiro Wada blasted two over the fence for a total of three RBIs off of his team's nemesis, Katsuhiko Maekawa of the Kintetsu Buffaloes, to spearhead an important 4-3 victory for the Tokorozawa crew Tuesday at Osaka Dome. 28 year old righthander Mitsutaka Goto picked up his third win of the season though he didn't pitch that well, giving up three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. But then the bullpen went to work and held the Buffs to one hit over the final 3.2 frames to secure the shiroboshi.

The Lions went out in front in the first, as shortstop Kazuo Matsui leadoff the game with a single to left and then was sacrificed to third. One out later, he eased on home when first baseman Alex Cabrera got a slider on the inner half of the plate and crushed it down the leftfield line. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura attempted to intervene, but it deflected off of his glove and headed down rolled away from him and as Matsui scored, the ex-Diamondback hustled into second to make it 1-0 Seibu.

In the fourth, Wada came up with two gone and bopped a Maekawa offering into the leftfield seats and it was 2-0 Lions.

Two innings later, the Lions put a crooked digit on the big board when Cabrera walked and Wada, who is yet another product of the late Yoshihiro Itoh's Tohoku Fukushi University program, REALLY leaned into a Maekawa delivery and hurtled it into the fifth level 475 feet away for his career single season best tying 16th jack of the campaign and a 4-0 Lions advantage. Wada has owned Maekawa this season, going 10-20 with three homers off of him. You can see a pic of Wada's swing at: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/08/07/20020807014832.jpg

Goto, though, just back from injury, was starting to feel fatigued, especially in his back and he almost let the lead get away in the bottom of the inning. Fumitoshi Takano leadoff with a double to left and came around on a one out single to left by leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes. Nakamura walked. DH Kenshi Kawaguchi doubled down the rightfield line and it was 4-2 and the tying run was in scoring position. Goto plunked first baseman Yuji Yoshioka. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura singled Nakamura in to make it 4-3 and Lions boss Haruki Ihara got on the horn to reliever Shinji Mori, who responded by inducing a pop up to the catcher by pinch hitter Hirotoshi Kitagawa and another can of corn to second by pinch hitter Daisuke Masuda.

Seibu loaded the bases on a pair of singles and an intentional walk with one out in the seventh, but frittered it away on a pair ofgroundouts.They then packed the sacks again in the top of the ninth with one away in the ninth and were frustrated again when then next man popped out and the man after him flew out. the Buffs, though, had a mild two on, two out threat in the seventh and let that opportunity escape and that was it for them offensively, as Kiyoshi Toyoda worked a perfect ninth to put it in the refrigerator.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 1-4 with an RBI and two strikeouts and is at .268.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk and is at .303. He now has a 14 game hitting streak in which he has hit an en fuego .442. The Lions hitting coach has noted that Cabrera has done a better job of laying off high pitches, one reason why he leads the Pacific League in walks with 56. Third baseman Tom Evans was 2-4 and is at .250.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

M. Goto (W, 3-1)     IP 5.1 PC 101 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 3 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.38
S. Mori                      IP 1.0 PC   13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.44
Doi                             IP 0.2 PC   12 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.71
T. Shiozaki                IP 1.0 PC   12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.57
Toyoda (S, 21)         IP 1.0 PC   10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.99

Kintetsu:

Maekawa (L, 4-9)     IP 6.0 PC 80 H 5 HR 2 K 2 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.51
Misawa                     IP 0.0 PC   3 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.05
T. Yoshida                IP 0.2 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.50
Akahori                     IP 1.2 PC 29 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45
Koike                         IP 0.2 PC   2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.06

SB: T. Itoh, Ueda
2B: Cabrera, Takano 2, Kawaguchi,
HR: Wada 2 (16)
RBI: Cabrera, Wada 3, Rhodes, Kawaguchi, N. Omura
IBB: K. Matsui
HBP: Yoshioka (Goto)

Season Series: Seibu 8, Kintetsu 9

Game Time: 3:22
Attendance: 17,000
Umpires: Nagami (HP), Yamamura (1B), Tamba (2B), Sato (3B)

Yarnell, Seguignol Combine to Freeze Nippon Ham 2-0

Orix Blue Wave first baseman Fernando Seguignol is still in manager Hiromichi Ishige's doghouse for not displaying the diligence the former great infielder demands form his players, but he nonetheless provided the signal blow of the match with the Nippon Ham Fighters Tuesday at Tokyo Dome with a mammoth two run clout beyond the leftfield seats to back a trememdous eight innings of five hit shoutout ball by Ed Yarnell, who was credited with his sixth win in a 2-0 Orix victory.

Akio Shimizu tossed a sparkling complete game, limiting the Kobe nine to just four hits, but the one mistake he made to Seguignol resulted in his second defeat.

Both Nippon Ham and Orix had a man in scoring position in the first with less than two outs, but neither could bring them home. From there, things got real quiet, as Shimizu and Yarnell settled into a groove until the Blue Wave broke through in the fourth. Centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani leadoff with a walk. One out later, Seguignol got a first pitch hanging forkball and absolutely torched it, rocketing it into the top of a sign above the leftcenterfield stands before the ball then bounced below into a utility walkway behind the bleachers, a shot that was estimated at 508 feet. Most importantly, Orix now had a 2-0 lead.

Nippon Ham then made some noise in their half, as second baseman Hiroshi Narahara leadoff with a single to right, as did first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara. DH D.T. Cromer struckout, but third baseman Yukio Tanaka walked to juice the bags. Centerfielder Tatsuya Ide, though, played pepper with third baseman Tatsuya Shindo, owner of several Gold Gloves, who turned a double play to get Yarnell off the hook.

In the eighth, the Fighters attempted to dent Yarnell again. Catcher Toshihiro Noguchi leadoff with a single to right. One out later, shortstop Makoto Kaneko walked. Takaya Hayashi flied out, but Ogasawara walked to crowd the basepaths again. Cromer then smashed a liner that was headed for the leftcenter alley, but shortstop Makoto Shiozaki was in the way and that was that.

Ishige could see that Yarnell was tiring, so he sent Jun Hagiwara out for the ninth and the former infielder promptly surrendered a single to Tanaka. However, Ide grounded into another double play and leftfielder Seigo Fujishima grounded to short to put it in the books as a 2-0 Orix triumph.

For Nippon Ham, Cromer was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .281.

For Orix, DH Scott Sheldon was 1-3 with two strikeouts and is at .260. Seguignol was 1-4 with two RBIs and three strikeouts and is at .212.

Pitching Lines:

Orix:

Yarnell (W, 6-10) IP 8.0 PC 136 H 5 HR 0 K 9 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.32
J. Hagiwara (S, 1) IP 1.0 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.31

Nippon Ham:

A. Shimizu (L, 0-2) IP 9.0 PC 122 H 4 HR 1 K 6 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.42

SB: M. Ogasawara
2B: Kaneko
HR: Seguignol (22)
RBI: Seguignol 2
GIDP: Ide 2

Season Series: Orix 6, Nippon Ham 10 1 Tie

Game Time: 2:39
Attendance: 9,000
Umpires: Maeda (HP), Nakamura (1B), Yamazaki (2B), Sakaemura (3B)

Bases Clearing Abe Double in 11th Downs Stars 7-4

Yomiuri Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe has been lethal with the bases loaded this season and Tuesday at Yokohama Stadium against the Yokohama Bay Stars, he did it again, wacking a double off the centerfield wall to clear out a logjam on the bases in the 11th inning and enable the Tokyo side to prevail 7-4.Junichi Kawahara, who blew a save in the tenth, vultured his fourth win while Yukinaga Maeda cadged his first save of 2002. Yokohama is now 0-5-2 in extra inning affairs.

Yuji Yoshimi started for Yokohama and survived a ten hit Giants attack for nine innings by allowing just three runs, as he attempt to keep himself in the running for Rookie of the Year.

Giants starter Masumi Kuwata, who has to be one of the favorites for Comeback Player of the Year, twirled seven outstanding innings of five hit, two run (one earned) ball, striking out seven and walking two in a no decision. The PL Gakuen grad's ERA is a phenomenal 2.21.

Yomiuri swiped a 2-0 lead in the first, as leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu leadoff with a single to center and went to second when shortstop Masahiro Kawai legged out a tapper toward third. Abe singled to right and Shimizu strutted in. One out later, first baseman Akira Etoh doubled down the leftfield line and Kawai reported with the second run.

They added to that in the second, when second baseman Yasuo Nagaike outran a bleeder toward third and Kuwata singled to center. Shimizu hit a comebacker to Yoshimi, who went to third for the force on Nagaike. Kawai singled to center to usher in Kuwata and make it 3-0.

The Stars put one across in the third thanks to a Giants miscue. With one away, catcher Takeshi Nakamura singled to center and moved to second on a groundout. Shortstop Takuro Ishii grounded to Daisuke Motoki at third, who booted it. Centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to center to plate Nakamura and it was 3-1 Yomiuri.

Yokohama then shaved another run off the deficit in the fourth when rightfielder Boi Rodrigues begain the stanza with a double off the leftfield fence and then motored around on a bloop double to right by second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa to draw within 3-2.

Since ringing up that third run in the second, Yoshimi then held the Giants to three hits over his last seven innings to give his mates a chance to surge back and they did in the eighth. With Hideki Okajima on the hill and two outs, first baseman Hirofumi Ogawa doubled to center and third baseman Mike Gulan pounded a shot off the centerfield wall for an RBI double and the 3-3 tie.

Yomiuri, though, with Yoshimi now having a seat on the bench and Shintaro Takeshita in the center of the diamond for the home folks, went back ahead in the tenth. With one out, Kawai singled to right and Abe did, too. Centerfielder Hideki Matsui was intentionally walked to load the bases. Etoh singled to center to cash in Kawai and it was 4-3 Giants.

Closer Junichi Kawahara came on and got backup rightfielder Hitoshi Tamura on a ground ball, but then Gulan played hammertime to left and Kawahara had both a new ball and a new ballgame at 4-4. Yokohama eventually loaded the bases on a couple of singles and an intentional walk with two gone, but pinch hitter Tomohide Shichino grounded out to Etoh to keep it
even.

So Abe ended up being the hero in the 11th. With one down, pinch hitter Koji Goto singled to left. Substitute shortstop Tomohiro Nioka beat out a bouncer toward short. Shimizu singled to right to pack the sacks. Abe went up concentrating on keeping his stroke compact. His battle with Atsushi Kizuka was epic, as he worked it to a 3-2 count after eight pitches before cannonading an 87mph fastball off the centerfield fence. When the smoke cleared, Abe was on second and the baserunners were all back in the dugout with a 7-4 advantage. The second year backstop is now 4-7 with three on in 2002 and was 6-12 in that situation in 2001, so overall for his career he is a scintillating 10-19, a .526 average.

Nikkan Sports noted that no Giants catcher has ever hit over .300, so Abe, who is currently at .308 after his 3-5 and four RBIs night, would make history if he can maintain that average. Seven other Central League catchers have transgressed the .300 mark at least once in their careers.

Yomiuri also just added righthander Ryuji Kimura, who is finally back after undergoing elbow surgery last fall.

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 1-5 with a walk and is at .287. Gulan was 2-5 with two RBIs and is at .238.

Pitching Lines:

Yomiuri:

Kuwata                           IP 7.0 PC 120 H 5 HR 0 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.21
Okajima                           IP 0.2 PC     8 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.27
R. Kimura                        IP 0.1 PC     7 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 27.00
Kawamoto                      IP 1.0 PC   17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.28
J. Kawahara (W, 4-2)    IP 1.0 PC   19 H 3 HR 1 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.00
Y. Maeda (S, 1)              IP 1.0 PC    7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.78

Yokohama:

Yoshimi               IP 9.0 PC 125 H 10 HR 0 K 5 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.36
Takeshita           IP 0.1 PC    15 H   2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.90
Yokoyama          IP 0.2 PC      6 H   1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.40
Kizuka (L, 1-2)   IP 1.0 PC    27 H   4 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.52

E: Motoki, Kawamoto, Kuwata
2B: Etoh, Motoki, Rodrigues, Uchikawa, Ogawa, Gulan, S. Abe
HR: Gulan (9)
RBI: M. Kawai, Abe 4, Etoh 2, Kinjo, Gulan 2, Uchikawa
IBB: T. Suzuki, T. Ishii
HBP: S. Abe (Yoshimi)
GIDP: S. Abe, Motoki

Season Series: Yomiuri 13, Yokohama 3

Game Time: 4:36
Attendance: 38,000
Umpires: Ino (HP), Kamimoto (1B), Sasaki (2B), Watamari (3B)

Ramirez Homer Overcomes Takatsu Blown Save in Yakult Victory

Yakult Swallows leftfielder Alex Ramirez left the yard leading off the top of the 11th to win it 6-5 for the Tokyo outfit at Nagoya Dome after closer Shingo Takatsu blew the save in the bottom of the ninth by being shaken down for three singles from the Chunichi Dragons. Reliever Ryota Igarashi then struckout the side to finish the Dragons off.

Yuya Kamada started for Yakult and struggled mightily, throwing 106 pitches in less than five innings before manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu gave him the hook. The Waseda University product was charged with two runs on five hits while striking out four and walking three.

Takashi Ogasawara made his first start after a recent string of relief appearances and did not aquit himself well, as he was knocked around for four runs in four innings on four hits, three of them homers.

The Dragons seized an edge in the first, when rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome cracked a shot off the leftfield wall and went into second standing, and third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami ripped an RBI single to center for a 1-0 lead.

Ramirez, however, quickly evened it in the second when he clobbered one over the leftcenterfield wall to make it 1-1.

In the fourth, a bad throw by second baseman Masahiko Morino that prevented the Dragons from turning an inning ending double play lead to disaster for Chunichi. Rightfielder Atsunori Inaba began the inning with walk. First baseman Roberto Petagine flew out to center. Ramirez rolled a routine groundball to Tatsunami, who pegged it over to Morino, who then threw wide of first to keep the inning going. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura got snappy on an Ogasawara delivery and mortared it into the centerfield seats for a two run homer. Catcher Kosei Ono then did some real harmful things to a fastball and parked it deep in the leftfield stands to make it 4-1 Yakult.

The Swallows then tacked on another in the fifth, as Shinichi Sato singled to right with one out and then somehow got to second (wild pitch?) before shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to right to drive Sato in and it was 5-1 Yakult.

In the fifth, Kamada's command went south and he ultimately didn't see the inning out. With one away, Shogo Mori singled to right and shortstop Hirokazu Ibata walked. Masahiro Araki singled to center to send Mori in. Fukudome struckout, but Tatsunami walked to load the bases. Wakamatsu summoned Ryu Kawabata and he struckout first baseman Omar Linares to terminate the revolt at 5-2 Yakult.

Chunichi would punch up Kawabata a bit in the sixth, as Kazuki Inoue doubled down the rightfield line and Koichi Sekikawa laced a two bagger off the leftfield wall to make it 5-3 Swallows.

Hirotoshi Ishii was assigned to work the seventh and he left a fastball up and over the heart of the plate to Tatsunami with two outs and the all star infielder cleaned and jerked it into the rightcenterfield stands to bring the Dragons within a run at 5-4.

After Ishii tossed a perfect eighth, Takatsu looked to turn out the lights in the ninth and didn't get it done. Takayuki Onishi commenced it with a single to right and went to second on a sac bunt. Araki singled to left. Fukudome sijngled to center and Onishi crossed with the equalizer. Tatsunami struckout and Linares walked to load the bases. Inoue popped out and it remained at 5-5.

In the top of the eleventh, Masahiro Yamamoto threw a sinker that didn't and Ramirez blowed it up real good, as John Candy would say, leaving it in the centerfield bleachers to put Yakult up 6-5. You can see a pic of the finish on that swing at:
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/kiji/2002/08/07/20020807015312.jpg

Igarashi entered the game and saw the first man he faced, Araki, single to right. But the 24 year old fireballing righty fanned the next three batters to ice it for Yakult.

For Chunichi, Linares was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .205.

For Yakult, Petagine was 0-4 with a walk and is at .318. Ramirez was 3-5 with two RBIs and is at .300. He had been in a slump that resulted in his average sinking 30 points and he hadn't homered in a month. No let's hope he can get hot so that the Swallows can catch the Giants.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Kamada                        IP 4.2 PC 106 H 5 HR 0 K 4 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 1.40
Kawabata                    IP 1.1 PC   23 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.29
H. Ishii                         IP 2.0 PC   28 H 1 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.21
Takatsu                       IP 1.0 PC   28 H 3 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.82
R. Igarashi (W, 7-1)   IP 2.0 PC   31 H 2 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.56

Chunichi:

T. Ogasawara                  IP 4.0 PC 80 H 4 HR 3 K 3 BB 1 R 4 ER 4 ERA 4.06
Kuriyama                         IP 1.0 PC 36 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 0 ERA 6.75
Endo                                IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.98
Ochiai                              IP 1.0 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.62
Iwase                               IP 2.0 PC 32 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.38
M. Yamamoto (L, 3-5)   IP 2.0 PC 33 H 3 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.20

E: Fukudome
SB: Araki
2B: Fukudome, K. Inoue, Sekikawa
HR: Ramirez 2 (17), Iwamura (15), K. Ono (3), Tatsunami (11)
RBI: Ramirez 2, Iwamura 2, K. Ono, Araki, Fukudome, Tatsunami 2, Sekikawa

Season Series: Yakult 10, Chunichi 7

Game Time: 4:46
Attendance: 34,000
Umpires: Watada (HP), Mori (1B), Kasahara (2B), Kiuchi (3B)

Kataoka Error Results in 1-0 Hanshin Defeat

In the midst of a fairly encouraging start from 2000 number one draft choice Taiyo Fujita, the Hanshin Tigers offense went and took the night off against Hiroshima Carp hurler Hiroki Kuroda and, thanks to a muffed hopper to Atsushi Kataoka, lost it 1-0 Tuesday at Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture before an enthusiastic and vociferous (as you will see) 30,000 strong crowd. Kuroda scattered six hits for his second consecutive complete game, striking out seven and walking four to snatch his seventh win.

Despite the score, this game did have its share of tense moments. Hiroshima had a man on second after a double with nobody out but couldn't move him at all due to the next two men striking out and then Hanshin had a man similarly positioned in the third and got him to third with two outs, but the next batter grounded to short to snuff that opportunity.

The Carp finally broke through in the fifth thanks to Kataoka. Catcher Shuji Nishiyama singled to right and went to second on a sac bunt. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata grounded to first to advance Nishiyama to third. Shortstop Akihiro Higashide walked. Second baseman Eddie Diaz then hit a chopper that Kataoka got caught in between on and dropped it as Nishiyama toed the dish to make it 1-0 Hiroshima.

This lead to some of the more diehard (no doubt fueled by alcohol as well) Hanshin fans to start riding Kataoka, who has had a disappointing year after signing as a free agent with the Tigers, saying that he should just stay on the bench. They also went after manager Senichi Hoshino, who started giving as good as he got and he had to be restrained form going into the stands by Hanshin team officials. "I don't back down from anybody," the fiery Hoshino told reporters when the game ended.

The Tigers put a man on second with one out in the sixth and then men on first and second with one down in the seventh and wasted those openings.

In the ninth, backup shortstop Shuta Tanaka walked to begin the inning and was thrown out trying to steal. Kentaro Sekimoto, who started the game at short and moved to third when Kataoka moved over to first, walked. But Kataoka grounded into a force play and catcher Akihiro Yano flew out and that was the ballgame and Hanshin fell to fourth place in the CL.

Fujita, who was much ballyhooed when he was drafted two years ago, had a real fiasco of a season in 2001 and spent much of it in the minors. In his recent relief stints and this start,where he went 4.2 innings and gave up the unearned run on four hits, he seems to be putting it together and his control is improving. He will probably be allowed to make another start to see if he is for real. He was clocked at 90mph and ran a lot of forkballs up to the plate, though he complained that he was getting too many breaking balls up. Yano concurred, stating that there was still some things Fujita needs to work on.

For Hiroshima, Diaz was 1-4 and is at .296.

Pitching Lines:

Hanshin:

T. Fujita (L, 0-1) IP 4.2 PC 87 H 4 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yoshino               IP 0.2 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Date                      IP 0.2 PC   5 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.08
Taninaka              IP 2.0 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.49

Hiroshima:

Kuroda (W, 7-5) IP 9.0 PC 138 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 4 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.31

E: Kataoka 2
2B: T. Maeda, Kataoka
GIDP: Hamanaka, Nishiyama

Season Series: Hanshin 8, Hiroshima 8

Game Time: 3:20
Attendance: 30,000
Umpires: T. Kobayashi (HP), K. Kobayashi (1B), Manabe (2B), Honda (3B)

Daiei Sinks One Game Under .500 with 4-0 Loss to Lotte

The Daiei Hawks hit a lowpoint this season Tuesday at Chiba Marine Stadium, as they were not only shutout by Chiba Lotte Marines southpaw Koji Takagi, in his second start of the year, and three relievers, but now they are one game under .500 for the first time since April of 2001 after the 4-0 defeat. And the cause is all the usual suspects: the pitching staff. Keisaburo Tanoue couldn't even go five before he had to be yanked upon being mugged for four earned runs on seven hits. The Hawks big guns, third baseman Hiroki Kokubo, first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka, and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, are underachieving to some extent, but Daiei is second in the PL in runs scored, batting average, and homers, so it is the last place pitching that is killing the team.

Lotte got some good situational hitting in the second to pop in front. Third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba leadoff with a single to center and went to third on a one out single to center by leftfielder Akira Otsuka. Catcher Tsuji flied out to right and Hatsushiba tagged and scored to make it 1-0.

In the fifth, Lotte did Tanoue in. Tsuji beat out a tapper near second and went to second on a sac bunt. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka legged out a dribbler near short. Centerfielder Saburo Omura singled to left to usher in Tsuji. Hirokazu Watanabe was brought in from the bullpen. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to right to load the bases. One out later, Hatsushiba doubled down the rightfield line for a pair of RBIs and a 4-0 Lotte advantage.

Daiei managed just one hit over the final four innings, Brian Sikorsky weaving a perfect ninth to help his club pocket the W. The three total safeties is a season low and the Hawks are in the middle of a four game losing streak.

Lotte was once as much as 20 games under this season (June 15), but have gone 13-7 since the all star break to improve to ten games under .500. Much as with Nippon Ham, if they can finish the year with an even record, they can consider it a moral victory.

For Lotte, DH Derrick May was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .261.

For Daiei, leftfielder Pedro Valdez was 0-3 and is at .293.

Pitching Lines:

Daiei:

Tanoue (L, 3-7)    IP 4.1 PC 59 H 7 HR 0 K 3 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 3.82
H.K. Watanabe    IP 0.1 PC 16 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.51
J. Hoshino            IP 1.1 PC 17 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.97
S. Ogura                IP 2.0 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.75

Lotte:

K. Takagi (W, 2-0) IP 5.0 PC 63 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.27
K. Yamasaki            IP 1.1 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.00
T. Kawai                  IP 1.2 PC 25 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.08
Sikorsky                   IP 1.0 PC 9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.01

2B: Kosaka, Hatsushiba
RBI: S. Omura, Hatsushiba 2, Tsuji
SF: Tsuji
GIDP: P. Valdez, Hatsushiba, Yoshimoto

Season Series: Daiei 12, Lotte 6

Game Time: 2:59
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Yamamoto (HP), Yanagida (1B), Hirabayashi (2B), Tachibana (3B)

Melvin Bunch Hospitalized

See Japan Today story at: http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=225682

Matsui, Sheldon Named Players of the Month

See Japan Today stiory at: http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=6&id=225681

Knife Wielding Man Breaks into Nagashima Residence

According to Sports Nippon, a 67 year old man barged into the Denen Chofu, Tokyo home of former Yomiuri Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima around 11 a.m. Wednesday (which is Tuesday 7 p.m. PST) wielding a knife. After entering through a door that opens out to the family's garden, he encountered a maid employed in the Nagashima household and demanded to see Mina Nagashima, a daughter of the man known as "Mr. Giants" and a tv announcer, and be allowed to take pictures of her. The maid reportedly started screaming for help and the man fled.

After police were called, the suspect, identified as Hideaki Izumi, was found 15 minutes later on a nearby street and arrested on suspicion of breaking and entering. In trying to run from police, the man dropped a black bag that had a seven inch long knife and a camera in it. Izumi is unemployed and "is of no fixed address," though he did say that he was a fan of Mina Nagashima, who was not at home at the time of incident and neither was her mother Akiko, but Shigeo Nagashima was upstairs and apparently didn't hear any of the commotion. Fans often show up at the home in hopes of getting an autograph and the Hall of Fame third baseman is usually more than happy to comply, but this guy obviously went too far.

The company that is responsible for security at the Nagashima residence, Secom, has declined to talk to reporters.

Nippon Ham Object of Government Investigation

According to the Hochi Shimbun, a subsidiary of Nippon Ham, which owns the Nippon Ham Fighters pro baseball team, is being accused by the Japanese government of fraud in the sale of mislabeled imported meat. The company, Nippon Foods, has already been investigated and now investigators for the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries are turning their attention to see if the parent had a role in the illegal
sale.

Taguchi Demoted to Double A

According to the Hochi Shimbun, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi has been sent down to its AA affiliate at New Haven after batting .248 for its Memphis AAA team. Taguchi appeared in 90 games with Memphis and went 75-302 with five homers and 36 RBIs.

Jong-beom Lee to Return to Action in KBO After Cheek Fracture

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200208/t2002080618174147110.htm

Taichung's Huang Having an MVP-Type Season

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/08/07/story/0000159369

August 4, 2002

Matsuzaka Back in Seibu Win Over Daiei

With a first pitch 93mph heater to the first hitter he faced Sunday at Fukuoka Dome, Seibu Lions righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka served notice that he was back. He then proceeded to throw 1.2 innings of one hit scoreless ball in what was the first of a couple of tuneup relief appearances before going back into the rotation. More importantly for the Lions, though, was that they got a solid effort from starter Fumiya Nishiguchi for his tenth victory, making it seven years in a row in which he has registered double figures in wins with a 4-3 triumph over the Daiei Hawks.

Shinsuke Ogura started for Daiei and was lit up for all four runs in two innings and was blamed for the loss.

In the first, Seibu rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki was thrown something on the inner half of the plate by Ogura and he tattooed it into the rightfield bleachers to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.

The Tokorozawa nine then lengthened that advantage in the second when leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada went yard center backscreen stylee, his first longball ever at Fukuoka Dome, to go up 2-0.

The Lions stayed in the ballpark in the third, but did some damage anyway. Second baseman Hiroshi Hirao pancaked one off the centerfield wall for a leadoff double. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui walked. Ozeki singled to left to plate Hirao. The runners were sacrificed along and first baseman Alex Cabrera cashed in Matsui with a sac fly to left and it was 4-0 Seibu.

Nishiguchi kept the Hawks away from the plate until the seventh, when a bad fielding play resulted in a run. DH Kenji Johjima doubled to start the inning, but from the way its listed in the game log, it appears that it may have been a pop up that the infielders couldn't decide who was going to take it and Johjima was on second after the ball hit the ground. He went to third on a one out grounder to first and then jogged in on a single to left from leftfielder Pedro Valdez to make it 4-1 Lions.

The Hawks then tightened it up in the eighth, as second baseman Tadahito Iguchi singled to center off of setup man Shinji Mori and then Johjima drilled a shot into the leftfield seats and the Lions were hanging on by a thread at 4-3. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo singled to right, but Mori then induced a popup, a routine ground ball and a strikeout to terminate the threat.

Closer Kiyoshi Toyoda came on in the ninth and was touched for just an infield single before striking out Iguchi to turn out the lights.

Nishiguchi now has 95 lifetime wins. The seven straight seasons with ten or more victories is considerable, but the record is held by the Hankyu Braves hall of famer Tetsuya Yoneda, who did that over 18 consecutive campaigns between 1957-1974 in a career that saw him ace his opponents 350 times with a 2.91 ERA.

Matsuzaka's comeback after 67 days away is extremely good news for Seibu, who have allowed the Kintetsu Buffaloes to get back in the race with a recent five game losing streak.

However, the Hawks number one draftee, Hayato Terahara, will likely not see action again with the big club since he suffered a groin pull in practice and will not be able to even workout for two to three weeks. Then he will need to get back in game shape, which will take more time. Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh has tried to be easy on the Miyazaki Prefecture native so as to ensure his long term viability. Thus, Terahara's year is, for all intents and purposes, over.

For Daiei, Valdez was 2-3 with a walk and an RBI and is at .296.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 1-2 with a walk and an RBI and is at .302. Third baseman Tom Evans was 0-4 and is at .243.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Nishiguchi (W, 10-6)    IP 5.1 PC 85 H 5 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.38
Matsuzaka                     IP 1.2 PC 16 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.52
S. Mori                           IP 0.0 PC   7 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.54
Doi                                 IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.75
Toyoda (S, 20)             IP 1.0 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.02

Daiei:

S. Ogura (L, 0-1) IP 2.0 PC 34 H 4 HR 2 K 0 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 8.59
J. Hoshino           IP 5.0 PC 59 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.03
S. Yoshida           IP 1.0 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.96
Okamoto              IP 1.0 PC 21 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.05

2B: Hirao, Bonishi, P. Valdez, Torigoe, Johjima, T. Itoh, Ozeki
HR: Ozeki (3), Wada (14), Johjima (14)
RBI: Ozeki 2, Cabrera, Wada, Johjima 2, P. Valdez
SF: Cabrera
IBB: Wada

Season Series: Seibu 11, Daiei 7

Game Time: 3:24
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Higashi (HP), Sato (1B), Yamamura (2B), Nagami (3B)

Nishiyama's Six RBIs Leads 12-3 Carp Flogging of Giants

18th year veteran Hiroshima Carp catcher Shuji Nishiyama had one of the best days of his career Sunday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, as he slugged a second inning grand slam and then blasted a two run shot in the fourth to spearhead a 12-3 trouncing of the Yomiuri Giants and rookie Hiroki Sanada. The granny was the first one in five years for Nishiyama and his first multi-homer performance in three seasons.

Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe batted third in this one due to all the injuries the team has suffered recently. The last time a backstop was slotted in the three hole for Yomiuri was in 1992, when Shinichi Murata did it. Unfortunately, Abe was then injured himself in the fifth, when a foul tip by Carp second baseman Eddie Diaz hit him in the family jewels and he had to be taken out of the game, his face reportedly looking pale from the pain. However, Abe says that he will be fine after a Monday day off.

After a 30 minute delay starting the game due to a fierce lightning storm, the Giants took a temporary lead in the first, as shortstop Mototsugu Kawanaka doubled to right and Abe legged out a bouncer toward second. Centerfielder Hideki Matsui then beat out a roller toward short for the RBI and it was 1-0 Yomiuri.

Sanada had a perfect inning in the first, but then got pummeled afterward. In the second, rightfielder Tomonori Maeda ripped a single to center. First baseman Itsuki Asai went back up the middle as well. Sanada plunked third baseman Takahiro Arai to load the bases. He then hung a slider to Nishiyama, who put a whipping on it and the ball landed in the leftfield seats for 4-1 Carp advantage.

In the fourth, Arai leadoff with a single to right and Nishiyama rocketed a Sanada delivery into the leftcenterfield bleachers to make it 6-1 home team.

The Giants got back in it, though, for a spell in the fifth, as leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu kicked it off with a drive into the rightfield stands off of a fastball from Carp starter Shinji Sasaoka. One out later, Maeda dropped a routine fly ball by Abe and went to third on a double off the centerfield fence by Matsui. First baseman Takayuki Saitoh grounded to second to send Abe in and it was 6-3 Carp.

Hiroshima then put it away with three more tallies in the sixth. With one away, Arai walked and Nishiyama singled to right. Pinch hitter Luis Lopez walked to pack the sacks. One out later, shortstop Akihiro Higashide singled to left to convert both Arai and Nishiyama. Diaz scorched one down the leftfield line and Lopez reported and it was 9-3 Carp.

In the eighth, the Carp capped off the scoring by jumping on the veteran Kazuhiro Takeda. Centerfielder Koichi Ogawa singled to center and was out on a subsequent force play. Somehow, Higashide went to to second (wild pitch?) and then came around on a single to left by Diaz. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to right and Diaz motored to third. Following a flyout, backup third baseman Takuya Kimura beat out a tapper and Diaz crossed to make it 11-3. Arai singled to right to usher in Kanemoto to make it 12-3 and that is how it ended.

For Hiroshima, Diaz was 2-5 with two RBIs and is at .296. Lopez just had the pinch hit appearance and is at .238.

Pitching Lines:

Yomiuri:

Sanada (L, 1-2) IP 4.0 PC 72 H 7 HR 2 K 4 BB 0 R 6 ER 6 ERA 5.57
Kawamoto         IP 2.0 PC 43 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.65
Y. Maeda           IP 1.0 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.84
Takeda               IP 0.2 PC 25 H 5 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.29
Jobe                    IP 0.1 PC   2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08

Hiroshima:

Sasaoka (W, 5-6)     IP 6.0 PC 101 H 8 HR 1 K 3 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.67
S. Tamaki                  IP 1.0 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.72
K. Kobayashi           IP 1.0 PC 15 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.40
Schullstrom              IP 0.2 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hiroike                       IP 0.1 PC   3 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.03

E: Higashide, T. Maeda
SB: Kawanaka
2B: Kawanaka, H. Matsui, Diaz, Arai
HR: Nishiyama 2 (3), T. Shimizu (11)
RBI: Nishiyama 6, Higashide 2, Diaz 2, T. Kimura, Arai
HBP: Arai (Sanada)

Season Series: Yomiuri 10, Hiroshima 8, 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:29
Attendance: 28,000
Umpires: Mori (HP), Kasahara (1B), Kiuchi (2B), Watada (3B)

Three Run Ono Homer in 12th Just Enough for Yakult

Yakult Swallows backup catcher Kosei Ono, in the game after starting receiver Atsuya Furuta began to experience leg pain, cracked a three run homer in the top of the 12th inning Sunday at Koshien Stadium that broke a 5-5 deadlock and enabled the birds to fly away with an 8-7 victory over the Hanshin Tigers. The Swallows are now back in second place, ten games behind the Yomiuri Giants.

Yakult second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi ignited a four run uprising in the third to dispose of Tigers starter Kei Igawa by slapping single to center and going to second on a sac bunt. One out later, shortstop Shinya Miyamoto singled to right. Rightfielder Atsunori Inaba doubled down the leftfield line to push Dobashi across. First baseman Roberto Petagine walked to load the bases. Furuta beat out a slow roller toward third and Miyamoto hustled in. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura singled to center and Petagine and Inaba scampered in to make it 4-0 Swallows.

Unfortunately for Yakult, rookie Yataro Sakamoto wouldn't be able to hold it. With one down in the bottom of the inning, pinch hitter Taichiro Kamisaka singled to center. One out later, Dobashi kicked a ground ball to permit centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi to reach. Leftfielder Koji Hirashita singled to left to see in Kamisaka and rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka copied that to redeem Akahoshi. First baseman Hiroshi Yagi, making a rare start, also singled to left and Hirashita crossed to close it up to 4-3 Yakult.

In the fifth, Inaba connected for a solo homer to right and it was 5-3 Yakult.

Hanshin got lucky again in the home half, as Hirashita struckout, but the ball got away from Furuta and he was safe at first. He eventually got to third, from where he scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Yagi to reduce the Swallows lead to 5-4.

The Tigers then used a single to center by shortstop Yoshinori Okihara, a sac bunt, and a single to center by pinch hitter Katsumi Hirosawa to knot it at five all in the sixth.

Hanshin then put men on second with one out in both the seventh and eighth, but couldn't get a clutch hit, and so it went to the tenth, where Tigers reliever Mark Valdez beat out a bleeder with two outs and went to second when Swallows reliever Ryota Igarashi walked second baseman Makoto Imaoka. Akahoshi singled to center and Valdez took off from second like a bat out of hell, rounding third and charging hard for the plate. Centerfielder Munehiro Shida's throw beat Valdez to the plate. Ono snagged it and endured a hard collision with Valdez to get the tag down for the third out.

In the top of the 12th, Inaba leadoff with a single to right. Petagine doubled down the rightfield line and was pinch run for by Takenori Daita. Ono, who was grieving the death of his former baseball coach at Tohoku Fukushi University, Yoshihiro Itoh, provided some bigtime pain to a Takehito Kanazawa pitch and propelled it well into the centerfield seats to make it 8-5 Yakult.

Shingo Takatsu, who has owned Hanshin to this point, not having given up an earned run against them all season, took the mound for the last half inning of the game. Third baseman Atsushi Kataoka grounded out to short for the first out. Okihara singled to center and went to second on a groundout. Kentaro Sekimoto was sent up to pinch hit for reliever Tetsuji Mende, who had replaced Kanazawa in the wake of Ono's circuit clout. Takatsu threw a 1-0 fastball on the outer half of the plate and he clobbered it over the rightcenterfield wall for a two run homer and now it was 8-7. Imaoka then doubled to leftcenter to put the tying run in scoring position. Akahoshi then torched one, but right at Miyamoto and it was "game setto." Takatsu now has 218 lifetime saves.

Just a note on the Itoh funeral I alluded to a couple of paragraphs back: over a thousand people attended the memorial rite and another 600 letters from well wishers and friends were received as well to say goodbye to one of Japan's greatest collegiate baseball figures. Ono, of course, dedicated his homer to his former mentor.

For Yakult, Petagine was 1-4 with two walks and is at .323. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-5 with a walk and is at .296.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Sakamoto                   IP 5.0 PC 99 H 5 HR 0 K 6 BB 1 R 4 ER 1 ERA 3.18
H. Ishii                        IP 2.0 PC 21 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.12
R. Igarashi                 IP 3.0 PC 43 H 3 HR 0 K 4 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.62
Kawabata (W, 2-2)   IP 1.0 PC 16 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.12
Takatsu (S, 24)         IP 1.0 PC 12 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.64

Hanshin:

Igawa                      IP 3.0 PC 64 H 6 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 4 ER 4 ERA 2.01
Date                         IP 3.0 PC 39 H 2 HR 1 K 3 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 4.18
Hesaka                    IP 0.0 PC 2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.84
Yoshino                  IP 0.2 PC 4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Taninaka                 IP 1.1 PC 15 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.58
M. Valdez                IP 3.0 PC 44 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.53
Kanazawa (L, 4-2) IP 0.0 PC   6 H 3 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.83
Mende                     IP 1.0 PC 5 H 0 HR 0 K 0 HR 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

E: Dobashi
2B: Inaba, Hamanaka, S. Miyamoto, Petagine, Imaoka
HR: Inaba (3), K. Ono (2), Sekimoto (5)
RBI: Inaba 2, Furuta, K. Ono 3, Iwamura 2, Hirashita, Hamanaka, Yagi 2, Hirosawa, Sekimoto 2
SF: Yagi
IBB: Imaoka, Petagine
HBP: Akahoshi (Sakamoto), S. Miyamoto (Hesaka)
GIDP: Ramirez

Season Series: Yakult 11, Hanshin 8

Game Time: 4:54
Attendance: 43,000
Umpires: Suginaga (HP), Manabe (1B), Nishimoto (2B), T. Kobayashi (3B)

Aiki Tosses Second Consecutive Shutout to Beat Lotte 5-0

24 year old rookie righthanded sidearmer Takashi Aiki is now flirting with history, as he twirled his second consecutive shutout to beat the Chiba Lotte Marines at Kobe Green Stadium Sunday 5-0. If he can fashion another nine innings of scoreless magic in his nezt start, he will become the seventh man in Pacific League history to do so. And he is the first rookie to toss two goose egg fests in a row since Shichiro Hakuta (I hope I have that last name correct; email me if it's not) did it in 1965. And he is the first Orix pitcher to have done that in the PL since Nobuyuki Hoshino, now with Hanshin, who did it in 1996.

With his parents Ryuji and Akemi as well as his grandmother having travelled up from Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu to see this game, he got the Lotte lineup to cough up 11 ground balls and permitted a mere two hits even though he only throws about 84-85mph.

Naoyuki Shimizu started for Lotte and was roughed up for three runs on eight hits in five innings to get hung with the loss, his sixth.

Orix took a 1-0 lead in the third, as centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani smacked the first of his two doubles, was sacrificed to third and then loped in on a single to right from DH Yuji Goshima.

They then exploited some wildness in the fourth by Shimizu to add to that. With two outs, both third baseman Tomotaka Tamaki and Tani walked. Second baseman Koichi Oshima singled to left and Tamaki blazed around to make it 2-0 Orix.

In the fifth, a one out single to center from rightfielder Ryota Aikawa, a single to right by shortstop Makoto Shiozaki and a two out single to right by Tamaki widened the lead to 3-0.

An error by Lotte second baseman Ryosuke Sawai on a groundball by leftfielder Kota Soejima provided an opening the seventh. Soejima was sacrificed to second. Shiozaki grounded to Makoto Kosaka at short, who misplayed it and Soejima sped in. One out later, Tamaki singled to left and Shiozaki crossed to make it 5-0.

Aiki admitted to reporters after the game that he was tired from the seventh on and walked a man and gave up a single in the ninth, but he worked out of it by getting a couple of harmless flyouts to maintain the shutout.

For Orix, first baseman Scott Sheldon was 0-4 with three strikeouts and a walk and is at .263.

For Lotte, DH Derrick May was 1-4 with a walk and is at .261.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

N. Shimizu (L, 9-6) IP 5.0 PC 109 H 8 HR 0 K 4 BB 5 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.75
T. Kawai                  IP 1.1 PC   26 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 1 ER 0 ERA 3.35
K. Yamasaki            IP 0.2 PC   13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 4.19
A. Yoshida              IP 1.0 PC     6 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.95

Orix:

Aiki (W, 2-0) IP 9.0 PC 112 H 2 HR 0 6 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.79

E: Sawai, Kosaka
2B: Tani 2, May, Shiozaki
RBI: K. Oshima, Goshima, T. Tamaki 2
GIDP: Sheldon

Season Series: Lotte 10, Orix 10

Game Time: 2:54
Attendance: 20,000
Umpires: Iizuka (HP0, Fujimoto (1B0, Sugimoto (2B), Kodera (3B)

Furukubo Homer Decides it for Kintetsu 2-1

For the first time in 13 years, Kintetsu Buffaloes catcher Kenji Furukubo has homered in back to back games and he made this one count big, as it was the run that put the Buffs ahead to stay in a 2-1 victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters Sunday at Tokyo Dome. Righthander Hisashi Iwakuma started for Kintetsu and gave up four hits and a run to win his sixth of the season.

Hayato Nakamura had a good outing for the Fighters, going six innings and allowing both runs, each on a solo longball, to take the loss and level his record at 5-5.

For whatever reason, Kintetsu manager Masataka Nashida put DH Kenshi Kawaguchi in the leadoff spot and he responded by starting the game with a shot into the leftcenterfield bleachers to make it 1-0 Buffs.

Nippon Ham evened it in the fourth, when Hiroshi Narahara singled to center and first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara singled to left. Two outs later, Yukio Tanaka walked to jam the basepaths. Narahara then scored, probably on a wild pitch (I'm assuming), to make it 1-1.

Furukubo, however, shortcircuited that state of affairs leading off the fifth, when hebashed a Shimizu offering deep into the leftfield bleachers to put Kintetsu in front 2-1. Iwakuma and Akinori Otsuka no hitted the Fighters over the final three innings, including six strikeouts, to seal it. The win also no doubt made a nice birthday present for Nashida, who turned 49 Sunday.

For Kintetsu, leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes was 0-3 with three strikeouts and a walk and is at .265.

For Nippon Ham, leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 0-3 with a walk and is at .282. DH Sherman Obando was 0-4 and is at
.267.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Iwakuma (W, 6-4)    IP 7.1 PC 110 H 4 HR 0 K 8 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.27
S. Yamamoto            IP 0.2 PC     7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.26
A.N. Otsuka (S, 9)   IP 1.0 PC   19 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.62

Nippon Ham:

H. Nakamura (L, 5-5) IP 6.0 PC 115 H 5 HR 2 K 7 BB 5 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.75
Sasaki IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.13
Shibakusa IP 2.0 PC 27 H 0 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.38

E: Hayashi
SB: M. Ogasawara, Ide
2B: N. Omura
HR: Kawaguchi (6), Furukubo (3)
RBI: Kawaguchi, Furukubo
IBB: N. Nakamura
GIDP: Isobe

Season Series: Kintetsu 9, Nippon Ham 9

Game Time: 3:25
Attendance: 26,000
Umpires: Nakamura (HP), Yamazaki (1B), Yanagida (2B), Akimura (3B)

Dragons Relievers Raked for Seven Runs in Yokohama Triumph

19 year old rookie Shinya Goto got his first pro win Sunday at Yokohama Stadium, going five innings of two hit, one run ball to even his record at 1-1 for the Yokohama Bay Stars, who went on to down the Chunichi Dragons 8-4. Goto left the game behind 1-0, but then Jun Inoue slammed a pinch hit solo homer to tie it and then the Stars went on to get three more in that inning and two each in the sixth and seventh to grab a comfortable 8-1 advantage before a three run Dragons rally narrowed it somewhat in the ninth.

It was a 0-0 standoff until the fourth, when the Dragons used a single to center from centerfielder Masahiro Araki, a single to right by rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome that sent Araki to third and a double play ball tapped by third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami to make it 1-0.

But with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Inoue was sent up to hit for Goto and he wacked a pitch from Daisuke Yamai into the rightfield seats to knot it at one all. Shigetoshi Yamakita was summoned from the bullpen and one out later, centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to right and so did leftfielder Takanori Suzuki. Rightfielder Boi Rodrigues walked. First baseman Hirofumi Ogawa also walked to force in Kinjo. Third baseman Mike Gulan then laced a shot down the leftfield line for a two run double and a 4-1 Stars lead.

In the sixth, Yokohama catcher Takeshi Nakamura catalyzed another rally when he leadoff with a double off the leftfield fence. One out later, Dragons reliever Masataka Endo plunked shortstop Takuro Ishii. Kinjo singled to center to drive in Nakamura. After Suzuki struckout, Rodrigues singled to right and it was 6-1 Stars.

Takashi Ogasawara came on to pitch the seventh for Chunichi and he was greeted by Gulan's double to leftcenter. Yokohama reliever Kazuo Fukumori legged out a tapper toward third. One out later, backup rightfielder Hitoshi Tamura singled to left for an RBI. Ishii singled to right to load the bases. Kinjo flew out to center and Fukumori hit the dish and it was 8-1 Stars.

Fukumori had thrown three scoreless innings, but got hit around a bit in the ninth. First baseman Omar Linares singled to left. Leftfielder
Kazuki Inoue singled to right. Shortstop Masahiko Morino singled to right to juice the bags. Second baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to right for a run. One out later, pinch hitter Takayuki Onishi grounded to first and Rodrigues, who was moved there so that Tamura could play right, let it get through him for an error and two runs to make it 8-4. Yukiya Yokoyama came in and struckout two to end the game.

However, during that inning, there was also a 23 minute interruption due to lightning hitting some high tension power lines near the park
and knocking the power out. That is the only power outage since the ballpark opened in 1978. There was an additional five minute delay for a sudden heavy and transient downpour (and it can come down in barrelfuls when these happen, with the raindrops sounding as if they have lead weights attached to them; it's really something to see).

For Yokohama, Rodrigues was 2-3 with an RBI and two walks and is at .288. Gulan was 3-5 with two RBIs and is at .233.

For Chunichi, Linares was 1-2 with two walks and is at .200.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Yamai                      IP 4.1 PC 81 H 2 HR 1 K 5 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.81
Yamakita (L, 0-3)   IP 0.1 PC 19 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 3 ER 3 ERA 4.64
Endo                       IP 1.1 PC 37 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.07
T. Ogasawara        IP 1.0 PC 21 H 4 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.81
Gaillard                   IP 1.0 PC 13 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.50

Yokohama:

S. Goto (W, 1-1)    IP 5.0 PC 89 H 2 HR 0 K 5 BB 4 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.51
Fukumori                IP 3.1 PC 55 H 6 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 3 ER 2 ERA 3.93
Y. Yokoyama         IP 0.1 PC 13 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 6.23
Kizuka (S, 2)          IP 0.1 PC   7 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.73

E: Yamai, Rodrigues
SB: Tanishige
2B: Gulan 3, T. Nakamura
HR: J. Inoue (1)
RBI: Onishi, H.Y. Watanabe, Kinjo 2, Rodrigues, Ogawa, Gulan 2, Inoue, Tamura
SF: Kinjo
HBP: T. Ishii (Endo)
GIDP: Tatsunami

Season Series: Chunichi 10, Yokohama 7

Game Time: 3:36
Attendance: 22,000
Umpires: Kittaka (HP), Sasaki (1B), Shikida (2B), Ino (3B)

China Trust Whales Hurler Sets Sights on Greatness

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/08/05/story/0000159124

Fun the Key in U.S. Minors

See Taipei Times story at: http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/08/05/story/0000159094

Seung-yeop Lee Goes 440 Feet to Grab KBO Homer Lead

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200208/t2002080417232147110.htm

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for August 4th and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1971, because he just disappeared without telling either the ballclub or his family where he was, Hanshin Tigers outfielder Tadakatsu Takayama was made permanently ineligible to play pro ball by the commissioner's office.

August 3, 2002

Yakult Wastes Aanother Fine Start by Hodges in Error Riddled Extra Inning Loss

Errors on easy groundballs by Yakult second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi, first baseman Roberto Petagine and catcher Atsuya Furuta lead directly to three unearned runs for Hanshin and the Osaka nine's eventual 3-2 victory in the bottom of the 10th inning Saturday at Koshien Stadium. Kevin Hodges was seeking his 13th victory and went six strong innings of one unearned run ball on three hits, but didn't figure in the decision.

22 year old righthander Kyuji Fujikawa, looking for his first ever pro win, started for Hanshin and put together six excellent shutout innings on four hits while striking out five and walking one and left with a lead until reliever Shinji Taninaka came in and surrendered it in the seventh.

Neither side presented a credible threat until the fifth, when Hanshin used a break to pull ahead. With one down, Hodges plunked third baseman Kentaro Sekimoto. Catcher Akihiro Yano doubled down the rightfield line. Fujikawa flied out to shallow left for the second out. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi then tapped one to Dobashi, who muffed it and Sekimoto was in to make it 1-0 Tigers.

After Fujikawa departed, Taninaka took the hill and the Swallows offense woke up. Furuta leadoff with a single to right and was forced out on a grounder by third baseman Akinori Iwamura. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left. Dobashi singled to center to cash in Iwamura and it was 1-1.

Hanshin got it back, though, in the home half, as Yano opened the frame with a single to center and went to second on a sac bunt. One out later, shortstop Shuta Tanaka grounded one to first baseman Roberto Petagine, who made a bad feed to reliever Ryu Kawabata, who ran over to cover first, and Tanaka was safe. While the ball got past Kawabata, Yano busted for home and made it without a throw and it was 2-1 Hanshin. It was ruled a hit and an error.

Yakult was able to compensate, however, in the top of the eighth, when Petagine and Furuta both singled to left with two down. Iwamura spanked a shot into center and Petagine hustled around to knot it at 2-2.

The visitors then almost won it in the ninth. Hanshin reliever Takehito Kanazawa plunked Dobashi to begin the inning and Takenori Daita came in to pinch run. Over the course of two outs, Daita stole second. Shortstop Shinya Miyamoto then dug in and cracked a single to right. Fujikazu Takanami, who had come in as a defensive replacement, got to the ball and winged a one hop throw to the plate that was right on the money and the speedy Daita was meat.

Hanshin then attempted to mount a decisive rally in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Yano and pinch hitter Taichiro Kamisaka both finagled walks off of Alan Newman. Shinji Matsuda was summoned from the bullpen by Swallows boss Tsutomu Wakamatsu and he got a two strike count on Akahoshi. Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino flashed the hit and run sign, which Akahoshi apparently missed, since the next pitch was called strike three and Furuta then threw down for the easy tag on Yano to kill that little rebellion.

In the bottom of the tenth and one out, Takanami bit on a Matsuda pitch and beat it into the ground in front of the plate. Furuta pounced on it and then fumbled it to allow Takanami to reach. Leftfielder Osamu Hamanaka then smashed a changeup to rightcenter. Swallows rightfielder Atsunori Inaba went after it and made a diving attempt to snare it, but it got past him and Takanami ran for his life to the plate while Hamanaka motored into third and raised his fists in exultation for his sayonara triple.

The Hanshin victory ended a seven game losing streak against Yakult at Koshien.

For Yakult, Petagine was 1-5 with two strikeouts and is at .324. Ramirez was 2-4 with two strikeouts and is at .300.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

Hodges                      IP 6.0 PC 83 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 1 ER 0 ERA 2.64
Kawabata                   IP 2.0 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 3.24
Newman                     IP 0.1 PC 12 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.15
S. Matsuda (L, 0-1)   IP 1.0 PC 18 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 0 ERA 0.00

Hanshin:

Fujikawa                    IP 6.0 PC 76 H 4 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.35
Taninaka                   IP 1.0 PC 25 H 3 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.64
Kanazawa                 IP 2.0 PC 34 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.28
Yoshino                    IP 0.2 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
M. Valdez (W, 4-2) IP 0.1 PC 11 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.67

E: Petagine, Furuta, Dobashi, Sekimoto
SB: Furuta, Daita
2B: Dobashi, Yano
3B: Hamanaka
RBI: Iwamura, Dobashi, Hamanaka
HBP: Sekimoto (Hodges), Dobashi (Kanazawa)
GIDP: Hodges

Season Series: Yakult 10, Hanshin 8

Game Time: 3:41
Attendance: 45,000
Umpires: Yoshimoto (HP), Nishimoto (2B), T. Kobayashi (2B), Suginaga (3B)

Chang, Evans Put Seibu Back in Winners Circle 2-1

If Seibu righthander Chang Chih-chiah isn't your pick for Pacific League rookie of the year thus far, you aren't paying attention. Saturday at Fukuoka Dome, he smoked Kenichi Wakatabe, who otherwise had a very strong outing himself, and the Daiei Hawks on four hits over eight innings of one run ball and struckout 12 to take his sixth victory in seven decisions 2-1. The Taiwanese import was clocked at a high of 91mph, but he changed speeds well and used his changeup to devastating effect and has now struckout at least one batter in 22 consecutive innings, just one short of a Japanese record.

Chang got into his only jam of the night in the first, as Hawks centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled to right and went to second on a groundout. DH Kenji Johjima singled to left. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo walked to load the bases. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka then hit one on the screws, but right at rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki. Nevertheless, it was still deep enough to score Shibahara, who has good wheels, under ordinary circumstances. But he couldn't get back to the bag in time to tag up before Ozeki had the ball in hand and he had to hold at third. Chang then fanned leftfielder Pedro Valdez for the last out of the frame. Daiei eeked out just two more hits over Chang's next seven innings on the mound.

In the top of the second, Seibu first baseman Alex Cabrera thundered a double off the leftfield wall to lead it off and went to third on a groundout. one out later, third baseman Tom Evans steered one into the leftcenter gap for an RBI two bagger and it was 1-0 Lions.

The Lions then played some small ball to convert another two bag salvo by Cabrera, this time down the leftfield line, for the important second run. The ex-Diamondback went to third on a groundout, but then centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji hit a slow hopper right to a drawn in Yusuke Torigoe at short and while Torigoe couldn't do anything to get Miyaji, he did hold the slower footed Cabrera. Evans flew out to right and Cabrera tagged and charged home to make it 2-0 Seibu.

Daiei got their lone tally in the fifth, when he hung a changeup to Torigoe, who pounded it over the leftfield wall to get his club within 2-1.

Lions closer Kiyoshi Toyoda ascended the center of the diamond in the ninth endeavoring to secure the shiroboshi. Matsunaka leadoff by steaming one down the rightfield line for a double and was pinch run for by Motoi Okoshi. Valdez grounded to Cabrera, who threw across the diamond to nail the sliding Okoshi and there went Daiei's chance to even this thing up and it was soon over.

Chang has 77 strikeouts in 61 innings, which averages out to 11.3 K/9, which is phenomenal, especially for a guy who doesn't bring the big heat to the ballpark everyday. If he can whiff someone in the first inning of his next start, he will tie the great Hanshin hurler Yutaka Enatsu, who did it in 1968, the same season he set a world record with 401 Ks in a year, and Isamu Kida of Nippon Ham in 1980. He has at least one strikeout in 54 of those 61 innings.

Just a quick note on Kida: he went 22-8 as a rookie that season with a 2.28 ERA, winning the ERA and strikeout titles and being named both Rookie of the Year and MVP. He was also voted a Gold Glove. His single game best in whiffs was 16, that being in 1980, too. However, he also became one of the greatest flash in the pans in Japanese history, as he then won just 38 games over the succeeding ten years and only twice was his ERA under 4.00, with a 3.62 campaign in 1986 and a 3.82 performance in 1982. His lifetime ERA was 4.23. Moreover, he had some interesting records: in 1983, he threw 209 pitches in a nine inning complete game, then a record (which was exceeded by Hideo Nomo later on); on June 10th, 1986, he was taken downtown four times in an inning; He was traded to the Taiyo Whales in 1986. Then on September 6th, 1988, he set a record when he walked five in a row in the fifth inning of a game with Hiroshima, which is also a Central League record for most walks by one hurler in an inning. He now reportedly works for a printing company in Kawasaki.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-4 and is at .300. Evans was 1-2 with two RBIs and is at .250.

For Daiei, Valdez was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .292.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Chang (W, 6-1) IP 8.0 PC 124 H 4 HR 1 K 12 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.77
Toyoda (S, 19) IP 1.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.05

Daiei:

Wakatabe (L, 6-4) IP 9.0 PC 104 H 8 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.99

2B: Cabrera 2, Evans, Matsunaka
HR: Torigoe (3)
RBI: Torigoe, Evans 2
SF: Evans
GIDP: T. Takagi

Season Series: Seibu 10, Daiei 7

Game Time: 2:44
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Tamba (HP), Nagami (1B), Sato (2B), Higashi (3B)

Giants Win Homer Duel 9-7

The Yomiuri Giants and the Hiroshima Carp combined for six homers Saturday at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, two of those by Carp rightfielder Tomonori Maeda, but Giants starter Koji Uehara was able to stick around for 6.2 innings and receive his 13th victory of the year in spite of permitting six runs, five earned, in that time in the Giants 9-7 win. Hideki Matsui went yard for the 28th time in 2002 as part of a 3-4 day that also propelled him to the top of the batting race at .334 so that he is now leading the CL in all three Triple Crown categories. Moreover, it was his 1200th consecutive game. However, the Tokyo contingent also lost their starting rightfielder, Yoshinobu Takahashi, for two weeks, after he hurt his heel landing awkwardly going after a foul ball near the fence along the line.

Masayuki Hasegawa started for Hiroshima and got pancaked for seven runs, all earned, in four innings, on nine hits, including the trio of Giants homers, to get hung with his fifth loss.

Yomiuri put a crooked number up in the first, as leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu leadoff the game with a single to center and moved to third on a sac bunt and a groundout to first. Hasegawa then hung a fourth pitch curve ball and Godzilla mortared it 455 feet to rightcenter to make it 2-0 Giants. You can see a pic of Matsui's swing on that pitch at: http://www.sanspo.com/baseball/top/bt200208/image/02080401matuiNK125803_b.jpg

The home team offered some resistance in their turn, when centerfielder Koichi Ogata leadoff with a single to right and shortstop Takuya Kimura did the same. Both were sacrificed along. One out later, Maeda rolled to first and Takayuki Saito geeked it to permit Ogata to cross and it was 2-1 Giants.

Yomiuri third baseman Akira Etoh responded with a shot into the leftcenterfield bleachers and the Giants were back up by a pair at 3-1. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe doubled down the rightfield line, but Hasegawa struckout the side to strand him.

In the fourth, the Giants really went to war against Hasegawa. Saito kicked it off with a single to center. Etoh doubled down the leftfield line. Abe singled to right to plate Saito. Second baseman Daisuke Motoki doubled off the rightfield wall to redeem Etoh. One out later, Shimizu dialed Ibaraki 6-5000 and it was picked up in the rightfield stands for a two run dinger and a 7-1 Yomiuri lead.

Uehara seemed to be on the ropes in the home portion, but he survived. With one away, Maeda poleaxed one into the centerfield bleachers. First baseman Itsuki Asai doubled to rightcenter and completed the circuit when third baseman Takahiro Arai pinged a shot down the leftfield line for another two bases and the RBI to make it 7-3 Giants. Catcher Kazuyoshi Kimura, hitting around .330 coming in, popped out to second and Kojiro Machida came up empty to halt the rally in its tracks.

Koji Hiroike was commanded to try his luck in the fifth by Carp manager Koji Yamamoto and he got bruised. Takahashi singled to center. Matsui singled to left to get Takahashi to third. Saito lined out to first, but Etoh grounded to second to push Takahashi in. Abe singled to center and Matsui made a beeline for the dish and a 9-3 Yomiuri advantage.

In the sixth, Arai teed off and deposited Uehara's delivery into the leftfield seats and shrink the gap to 9-4.

The Carp chipped two more off of that disparity in the seventh with a leadoff single to center by pinch hitter Akihiro Higashide, a single to right from Ogata, a one out single by second baseman Eddie Diaz that loaded the bases, an RBI forceout at second by leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto, and a double down the rightfield line by Maeda that drove in Higashide and now Hiroshima was within grand slam range at 9-6.

The ninth inning came and Giants closer Junichi Kawahara mosied on in to liquidate the last of the Carp attack. Diaz popped out and Kanemoto grounded out. Maeda then creamed one over the leftcenterfield wall to make it 9-7. That was as far as the Hiroshima rally went, since Kenjiro Nomura popped out for out number three.

Uehara now leads all of Japanese baseball with the 13 wins. Matsui has accumulated nine homers in nine games, one short of the Japan record ten in a similar span, held by both Sadaharu Oh (1964 and 1970) and the Nankai Hawks Hiromitsu Kadota (1981).

For Hiroshima, Diaz was 1-4 and is at .294. Luis Lopez was 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance and is at .238.

Pitching Lines:

Yomiuri:

Uehara (W, 13-3)      IP 6.2 PC 123 H 10 HR 2 K 10 BB 0 R 6 ER 5 ERA 2.82
Y. Maeda                   IP 0.0 PC     4 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.91
Jobe                            IP 1.1 PC   18 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.10
J. Kawahara (S, 21)   IP 1.0 PC   13 H 1 HR 1 K 0 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.80

Hiroshima:

Hasegawa (L, 8-5)   IP 4.0 PC 70 H 9 HR 3 K 4 BB 0 R 7 ER 7 ERA 3.41
Hiroike                      IP 3.0 PC 52 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.07
K. Kobayashi           IP 2.0 PC 31 H 1 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.45

E: Takayuki Saito
SB: T. Shimizu
2B: S. Abe, Etoh, Motoki, I. Asai, Arai, T. Maeda
3B: Arai
HR: H. Matsui (28), Etoh (12), T. Shimizu (10), T. Maeda 2 (12), Arai (18)
RBI: T. Shimizu 2, H. Matsui, Etoh 2, S. Abe 2, Motoki, Kanemoto, T. Maeda 3, Arai 2 IBB: Motoki, H. Matsui
GIDP: Takayuki Saito

Season Series: Yomiuri 10, Hiroshima 7 1 Tie

Game Time: 3:40
Attendance: 32,000
Umpires: Tomoyori (HP), Kiuchi (1B), Watada (2B), Mori (3B)

Otsuka Slam Powers Lotte Over Orix 10-2

Chiba Lotte Marines righthander Nathan Minchey won his third start in a row Saturday at Kobe Green Stadium, as the Lotte offense throttled Koo Dae-sung for five runs over 6.2 innings and then jumped on two relievers for five more in a 10-2 cakewalk. Koo also returned to Korea to have a leg problem looked at after the game, but isn't expected to miss any significant time. That's good, since the Kobe crew are in a four game losing spin.

In the first, Lotte used a one out single to left from centerfielder Saburo Omura and a two out double off the centerfield fence by DH Derrick May for a 1-0 lead. Then in the third, first baseman Kazuya Fukuura ripped a one out single to left and May cleaned and jerked one over the rightfield fence to expand that to 3-0.

Orix conducted a minor rally in their segment, as shortstop Makoto Shiozaki singled to right with one gone and centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to center. Second baseman Koichi Oshima grounded to second, but DH Yuji Goshima singled to left to score Shiozaki and make it 3-1.

Lotte loaded the bases on a double and two walks with two outs, but third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba flew out to foul territory in right to put the kibosh on that opportunity.

In the seventh, Lotte broke it open. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka singled to center and was sacrificed to second. Fukuura fanned. May walked and Koo was replaced by Jun Hagiwara. Rightfielder Takashi Tachikawa walked to pack the sacks. Hatsushiba then worked a freebie, too and Kosaka was forced in. Leftfielder Akira Otsuka then crushed a hanging slider over the leftfield wall for his first career grand slam and his 21st lifetime circuit clout to make it 8-1.

Lotte tacked two more on in the ninth when May singled to center, Otsuka singled to right with two outs, catcher Takumi Shigi slapped an RBI single to center and second baseman Tadaharu Sakai singled to right for another and it was 10-1 Lotte.

Orix got their second tally in the bottom of the inning when first baseman Scott Sheldon jacked one out to rightcenter, his 17th tater of the year and that was it for a 1-02 final.

For Lotte, May was 3-3 with three RBIs and two walks and is at .261.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

Minchey (W, 8-11) IP 9.0 PC 105 H 8 HR 1 K 6 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.35

Orix:

Koo (L, 5-6)         IP 6.2 PC 112 H 7 HR 1 K 6 BB 3 R 5 ER 5 ERA 2.29
J. Hagiwara         IP 0.1 PC    17 H 1 HR 1 K 1 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.41
S. Yamasaki        IP 2.0 PC    47 H 5 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 15.43

2B: May, S. Omura
3B: A. Otsuka
HR: May (12), A. Otsuka (1), Sheldon (17)
RBI: May 3, Hatsushiba, A. Otsuka 4, Shigi, T. Sakai, Sheldon, K. Oshima
HBP: Shigi (Koo)
GIDP: Fukuura

Season Series: Lotte 10, Orix 9

Game Time: 2:45
Attendance: 25,000
Umpires: Not listed

Bowers Uses 147 Pitches to Cadge 5-4 Victory for Yokohama

If I'm not mistaken, Shane Bowers had the highest pitch count of his Japanese career Saturday at Yokohama Stadium, as he gutted out 147 deliveries to the plate against the Chunichi Dragons in just a bit under eight innings to truly earn his third victory of the season 5-2. It was close for six innings until the Stars broke out for three insurance runs in the seventh to sew it up.

Kenta Asakura continues to pitch in tough luck, holding Yokohama to two first inning runs over six innings on eight hits to absorb the loss, his eighth, even though he has a fine 2.77 ERA, for the party from Nagoya.

Yokohama utilized a single to center by shortstop Takuro Ishii, a walk to centerfielder Kazunori Tanaka, an RBI single to right by leftfielder Takanori Suzuki and a single to center from rightfielder Boi Rodrigues that got Tanaka across for a 2-0 lead. They then held on for dear life while Bowers pitched out of a three walk, bases loaded jam in the bottom of the inning, and a one out man on third predicament in the third.

In the seventh, Bowers was given more room for error when his team knocked a trio of Dragons relievers around for three runs. Ishii ignited it with an infield hit and Tanaka sacrificed him to second. Suzuki rammed a double to rightcenter to convert Ishii. Rodrigues singled to center and Suzuki wheeled in. First baseman Hirofumi Ogawa and third baseman Mike Gulan walked to crowd the basepaths. Catcher Ryoji Aikawa flied out to left to send Rodrigues in and it was 5-0 Stars.

In the eighth, Dragons shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to left to lead it off and two force plays later, with rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome now on first, third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami kaboomed one into the rightfield seats to make it 5-2. Masahide Yone then came in from the bullpen and he and Atsushi Kizuka shut the Dragons down from that point on.

Yokohama closer Takashi Saito is complaining of shoulder discomfort and has been taken off the roster as a precautionary measure. He will be eligible for free agency in a few days.

For Chunichi, first baseman Omar Linares was 1-3 with a walk and is at .182.

For Yokohama, Gulan was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .223. Rodrigues was 2-4 with two RBIs and is at .284.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Asakura (L, 7-8)    IP 6.0 PC 97 H 8 HR 0 K 8 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.77
T. Ogasawara        IP 0.1 PC 14 H 3 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 3.62
Kuriyama               IP 1.1 PC 34 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 3 R 0 ER 0 ERA 8.31
Yamakita                IP 0.1 PC   4 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.86

Yokohama:

Bowers (W, 3-2)     IP 7.2 PC 147 H 5 HR 1 K 7 BB 3 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.47
Yone                        IP 0.1 PC     4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 7.36
Kizuka (S, 1)            IP 1.0 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.76

E: Gulan
2B: Ibata, Ryoji Aikawa, T. Suzuki
HR: Tatsunami (10)
RBI: Tatsunami 2, T. Suzuki 2, Rodrigues 2, Ryoji Aikawa
SF: Ryoji Aikawa
IBB: Tanishige, Uchikawa

Season Series: Chunichi 10, Yokohama 6

Game Time: 3:35
Attendance: 26,000
Umpires: K. Kobayashi (HP), Shikida (1B), Ino (2B), Kittaka (3B)

Johnson Excellent in Winning Debut Start for Kintetsu

This is one of those instances where you literally close your eyes and grab every instrument of prayer you can get your hands on (rosary beads, disciple trading cards, you know the drill) and hope for the best. Mike Johnson, since coming over from Las Vegas in the Dodgers system, has been, to put it mildly, unimpressive in both relief stints at the big club level as well as some minor league starts, where he has gotten shelled. This was billed as Johnson's last chance and he made the best of it, tossing six sparkling innings of two hit, one run ball to post his first ever victory in Japan. Akira Okamoto and Akinori Otsuka then suppressed the Nippon Ham lineup over the final three innings on 41 pitches and one hit to preserve a 3-1 Kintetsu Buffaloes triumph Saturday at Tokyo Dome.

Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, recently returned from the ranks of the injured, had one of his best performances of what has been a dismal season for him, going 6.2 innings of three run ball on six hits to drop his sixth of the year.

This was a tense affair that saw the Fighters pull in front in the first. Shortstop Makoto Kaneko leadoff with a double down the leftfield line and was sacrificed to third. First baseman Michihiro Ogasawara flew out to left and Kaneko toed the dish for a 1-0 lead.

While Johnson settled down to one hit the Fighters over the following five frames with large doses of sinkers and curve balls down in the zone, Shimoyonagi wriggled out of a men on second and third with two outs jam in the second but then coughed up his lead in the third. DH Yosuke Takasu whistled a leadoff double down the leftfield line and was sacrificed to third. Leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes then went to the right side to usher in Takasu while he was thrown out at first on the grounder to even it at 1-1.

Shimoyanagi pitched out of a couple of minor scrapes in the fifth and sixth, but then left a cookie up in the zone to catcher Kenji Furukubo in the seventh and the veteran backstop hammered it into the leftfield stands to put Kintetsu in the driver's seat at 2-1. Takasu singled to right and went to second on a groundout. Rhodes then powered one to deep leftcenter for a double and Takasu galloped in for a 3-1 Buffs advantage. Six of the next seven Nippon Ham batters went down afterward and that was the ballgame.

For Kintetsu, who have won their last three in a row, Rhodes was 1-4 with an HBP and two RBIs and is at .268.

For Nippon Ham, leftfielder D.T. Cromer was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .284. D.H. Sherman Obando was 1-4 and is at .271.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Johnson (W, 1-0) IP 6.0 PC 87 H 2 HR 0 K 2 BB 3 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.54
A. Okamoto IP 2.0 PC 15 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.98
A.N. Otsuka (S, 8) IP 1.0 PC 26 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.72

Nippon Ham:

Shimoyanagi (L 1-6,)IP 6.2 PC 106 H 6 HR 1 K 6 BB 2 R 3 ER 3 ERA 7.46
Shibakusa                  IP 1.1 PC   13 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.63
Flury                           IP 0.2 PC   14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Sasaki                         IP 0.1 PC     4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.23

E: Y. Tanaka
2B: Kaneko, Takasu 2, Ide, Rhodes, Obando
HR: Furukubo (2)
RBI: Rhodes 2, Furukubo, M. Ogasawara
SF: M. Ogasawara
HBP: Rhodes (Shimoyanagi), N. Nakamura (Shibakusa)

Season Series: Kintetsu 8, Nippon Ham 9

Game Time: 3:00
Attendance: 21,000
Umpires: Sakaemura (HP), Tachibana (1B0, Kawaguchi (2B), Tsugawa (3B)

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for August 3rd and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1962, it was announced that the Fuji Sankei media chain bought an interest in the Kokutetsu Swallows, which they hole to this day.

August 2, 2002

Furuta Two Run Homer Edges Hanshin 2-1

A two run homer by Yakult Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta brought the Tokyo club back from a 1-0 deficit in the seventh and into the lead at Koshien Stadium in a faceoff with the Hanshin Tigers. From there, three relievers finished the Osaka bunch off on one hit over the final two innings, with closer Shingo Takatsu earning his 217th lifetime save to bring down the curtain. Takatsu now needs only 13 more saves to surpass Kazuhiro Sasaki's all time Japanese record of 229.

Trey Moore started for Hanshin and showed some major heart, coming back on one day's rest after being flambed by Yokohama Wednesday, where he was removed after just one inning of work, and tossing seven solid innings of two run ball on three hits, striking out five and walking one in what was ultimately a losing effort. Make no mistake about it, if there was an MVA (most valuable attitude award), the ex-Brave would win it easily.

But attitude will only take you so far and it wasn't enough to lend Hanshin enough offensive production against Shugo Fujii to prevail. The Swallows lefthander limited the Tigers to one run on five hits in 6.2 innings and fanned seven while walking one to pick up his seventh shiroboshi.

Moore and Fujii dueled it out to a scoreless deadlock for three innings until Hanshin finally drew first blood in the fourth. Third baseman Atsushi Kataoka leadoff with a single to center and then sprinted all the way in on a double into the leftcenterfield gap by shortstop Kentaro Sekimoto to make it 1-0 Tigers.

Moore had kept the Yakult bats pretty quiet until he made a mistake in the seventh. With one down, he walked first baseman Roberto Petagine. Furuta was next and he belted a third pitch 87mph fastball deep into the leftcenterfield seats for his first homer at Koshien since September of 2000 and ninth of his career there to put the Swallows ahead 2-1.

Fujii was replaced with two outs and a man on second in the seventh and righthanded fireball Ryota Igarashi then whiffed three of the four men he faced before Hirotoshi Ishii struckout Kataoka to begin the ninth. Takatsu was then summoned from the pen and blew pinch hitter Koji Hirashita away but was touched for a single to center by rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka. However, Takatsu then lured Sekimoto into coming up empty on a sinker to end it. Hanshin has now dropped its last seven in a row to Yakult at its homeground. Too, Takatsu has seven saves with a zero ERA in 2002 against the Tigers.

With the triumph, Yakult moved into a tie for second with Hanshin. However, they were hit with the injury bug again when infielder Chihiro Hamana and centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka were put on the injured list.

Hanshin first baseman George Arias, who is on the shelf due to strained ribcage cartilage, will begin working out again Monday. There is talk that Arias will be released after the season due to his disappointing production, though just who they can replace his offense with is anyone's guess. Batting coach Tom O'Malley and another Hanshin team official have been dispatched to the west coast of the U.S. to look for more foreign help for next season. One interesting facet of that, though, is that they have no intention of taking a look at Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who is rumored to be comtemplating a return to Japan, especially after the San Francisco Giants recently aquired Kenny Lofton. Shunjiro Kuman, Hanshin's owner, was quoted in the Japanese press as saying that Shinjo may not fit into the mold manager Senichi Hoshino looks for in his players.

For Yakult, Petagine was 0-2 with two walks and is at .326. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 0-3 and is at .298.

For Hanshin, leftfielder Derrick White was 0-3 and is at .229.

Pitching Lines:

Yakult:

S. Fujii (W, 7-5)      IP 6.2 PC 103 H 5 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.96
R. Igarashi              IP 1.1 PC   17 H 0 HR 0 K 3 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.72
H. Ishii                    IP 0.1 PC     4 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.02
Takatsu (S, 23)       IP 0.2 PC 12 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.14

Hanshin:

Moore (L, 7-8) IP 7.0 PC 97 H 3 HR 1 K 5 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.34
Taninaka IP 2.0 PC 34 H 0 HR 0 K 5 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.57

2B: Hamanaka
HR: Furuta (5)
RBI: Furuta 2, Hamanaka
GIDP: Imaoka

Season Series: Yakult 10, Hanshin 7

Game Time: 3:02
Attendance: 33,000
Umpires: Manabe (HP), T. Kobayashi (1B), Suginaga (2B), Yoshimoto (3B)

Seibu Tailspin Continues in 7-5 Loss to Daiei

The Daiei Hawks knocked Seibu Lions starter Takashi Ishii around for seven earned runs on 13 hits in five innings and then held off a late Lions rally to sink the Tokorozawa outfit 7-5 Friday at Fukuoka Dome in front of another capacity house. Daiei amassed 17 hits in all and didn't exactly make the most efficient use of them, but managed to scrape by anyway. Seibu's rotation has now surrenderd 22 runs in the last five games.

Brady Raggio started for the Hawks and fashioned six solid innings of two run ball on six hits, one of those Lions first baseman Alex Cabrera's 30 homer of the 2002 campaign, to scoop up his fifth victory.

Daiei went ahead to stay in the first, as second baseman Tadahito Iguchi singled to center with one out, as did DH Kenji Johjima. Third baseman Hiroki Kokubo, who had missed the previou sthree games due to tweaking his back, walked to load the bases. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka flied to center to allow Iguchi to tag up and score. Leftfielder Pedro Valdez singled to right and Johjima wheeled on in and it was 2-0 Hawks.

The very next inning, Daiei doubled that advantage when shortstop Yusuke Torigoe leadoff with a walk and, one out later, centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara legged out a roller toward short. Iguchi then scorched a shot into the leftcenterfield gap and all the way to the wall for a two RBI triple and it was 4-0 Hawks.

In the fourth, Seibu mounted a little bit of a response, as leftfielder Taisei Takagi commenced it with a single to right and went to third on a single to left by Cabrera. One out later, centerfielder Kazuhiko Miyaji grounded out to second and Takagi crossed to make it 4-1 Hawks.

In the fifth, Daiei got some serious separation when Matsunaka singled to right with one gone and Valdez tripled off the centerfield wall to convert him. Rightfielder Koji Akiyama singled to center to push Valdez in. Torigoe singled to right. Catcher Masanori Taguchi beat out a tapper toward third to pack the sacks. Shibahara flew out to left and the Hawks were cruising at 7-1.

Despite all the offense by the home side, it was Cabrera who made the biggest impression when he began the sixth by obliterating a slider that Raggio left over the heart of the, mashing it on a line into the upper deck in left, a 475 foot shot, to shrink the gap with Daiei to 7-2.

Seibu made it a little more interesting, though, in the eighth, as reliever Okamoto walked Takagi and then plunked Cabrera. The runners moved up on a wild pitch. DH Kazuhiro Wada grounded to second to plate Takagi and Miyaji flew out to cash in Cabrera and it was 7-4 Hawks.

Rodney Pedraza then came on in the ninth to attempt to put it in the refrigerator. Seibu catcher Tsutomu Itoh leadoff with a single to left and he was pinch run for by Satoshi Nakajima. Second baseman Hiroshi Hirao walked. Shortstop Kazuo Matsui struckout, but Rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to left to juice the bags. Takagi popped to short for the second out. Cabrera was now up with a chance to win the game on one swing. Pedraza wasn't about to give the ex-Diamondback anything good to hit and threw him a series of fastballs above the letters. On the ninth pitch of this confrontation, Cabrera walked on a pitch that was at eye level to force in Nakajima and make it 7-5. But Wada flew out harmlessly to left to squelch the rally and it concluded as a W for the Hawks. Seibu has now been defeated in each of its last five contests and the PL pennant race is
actually semi-competitive again.

For Daiei, Valdez was 2-5 with two RBIs and is at .293.

For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-2 with an RBI, a walk and two HBPs and is at .297. He is 22 games behind last year's homer pace. Third baseman Tom Evans was 0-4 and is at .246.

Pitching Lines:

Seibu:

Takashi Ishii (L, 4-3) IP 5.0 PC 122 H 13 HR 0 K 4 BB 2 R 7 ER 7 ERA 3.57
Mizuo IP 3.0 PC 59 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.95

Daiei:

Raggio (W, 5-3)         IP 6.0 PC 92 H 6 HR 1 K 3 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.43
H.K. Watanabe         IP 1.0 PC 11 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.33
K. Okamoto               IP 1.0 PC 19 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 1.09
Pedraza (S, 17)          IP 1.0 PC 43 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.60

SB: Shibahara
2B: Akiyama, Miyaji, Muramatsu
3B: Iguchi, P. Valdez
HR: Cabrera (30)
RBI: Cabrera 2, Miyaji 2, Shibahara, Iguchi 2, Matsunaka, P. Valdez 2, Akiyama
SF: Matsunaka, Shibahara, Miyaji
WP: K. Okamoto
HBP: Cabrera 2 (Raggio and K. Okamoto)

Season Series: Seibu 9, Daiei 7

Game Time: 3:43
Attendance: 48,000
Umpires: Yamamura (HP), Higashi (1B), Nagami (2B), Tamba (3B)

Seelbach Hammered in Seventh to Lose to Kintetsu 6-3

Nippon Ham starter Chris Seelbach was having a nice little outing, giving up two runs on five hits in his first six innings, but he totally lost it in the seventh and the Fighters relief corps stunk it up to result in a 6-3 Kintetsu Buffaloes victory Friday at Tokyo Dome.

Hiroshi Takamura opened on the hill for Kintetsu and was superb, going six innings of one run ball on six hits to receive his sixth win of the season.

Kintetsu leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes initiated the night's scoring when he killed a high fastball from Seelbach into the centerfield seats with two outs in the first to make it 1-0 Buffs.

Nippon Ham surged back to tie in the second by bunching three two out singles for a run, catcher Toshihiro Noguchi sending in centerfielder Tatsuya Ide for the RBI and it was 1-1.

Seelbach, though, had some problems obtaining the third out in the third and Kintetsu snatched an edge. With two gone, second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi singled to right and Rhodes walked. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura singled to center and Mizuguchi chugged on home for a 2-1 Buffs lead.

It remained 2-1 until the seventh before centerfielder Naoyuki Omura leadoff with a single to left and went to second on a groundout. DH Kenshi Kawaguchi singled to right. Mizuguchi came up with a carbon copy and Omura crossed and Seelbach was dispatched to the showers in favor of Kiyoshi Sasaki, who threw a wild pitch before he walked Rhodes to load the bases. Tateyama jogged in to spell Sasaki and was done up for a single to right from Nakamura that drove in Kawaguchi. Yoshinori Tateyama wild pitched Mizuguchi across. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe flew out to left and Rhodes tagged up and ran in to widen the Kintetsu advantage to 6-1.

Nippon Ham made a battle of it in the home portion, as Noguchi singled to left off of Koichi Misawa with one way and then went to third on a two out double off the leftfield fence from pinch hitter Takaya Hayashi. Hayashi was pinch run for by Ken Tanaka. Shogo Yamamoto was substituted for Misawa and he was shaken down for a two RBI single off the bat of first baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and it was 6-3 Buffs.

Pat Flury made his season debut for Nippon Ham and surrendered a double and a walk, but managed to pitch out of the jam in the eighth.

Akinori Otsuka appeared in the ninth and retired three of the four men he saw to lock it up for Kintetsu.

For Nippon Ham, DH D.T. Cromer was 1-4 and is at .287. Leftfielder Sherman Obando was 0-3 with a walk and is at .271.

For Kintetsu, Rhodes was 2-3 with an RBI and two walks and is at .268. He is four games ahead of last season's record tying homer pace.

Pitching Lines:

Kintetsu:

Takamura (W, 6-4)     IP 6.0 PC 95 H 6 HR 0 K 3 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 2.70
Misawa                        IP 0.2 PC 18 H 2 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.05
S. Yamamoto               IP 0.1 PC   7 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.38
A. Okamoto                 IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.08
A.N. Otsuka (S, 7)      IP 1.0 PC 19 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.80

Nippon Ham:

Seelabach (L, 5-5)    IP 6.1 PC 121 H 8 HR 1 K 7 BB 2 R 2 ER 2 ERA 4.03
Sasaki                        IP 0.0 PC     4 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.26
Tateyama                  IP 0.2 PC   10 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.21
Flury                          IP 1.0 PC   26 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Yoshizaki                  IP 1.0 PC   12 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00

SB: N. Nakamura
2B: N. Omura 2, Ide, Hayashi
HR: Rhodes (33)
RBI: Mizuguchi, Rhodes, N. Nakamura 2, Isobe, M. Ogasawara 2, Noguchi
SF: Isobe
WP: Sasaki, Tateyama

Season Series: Kintetsu 7, Nippon Ham 9

Game Time: 3:31
Attendance: 16,000
Umpires: Yanagida (HP), Yamamoto (1B), Tsugawa (2B), Nakamura (3B)

Matsui Homers Again in 2-2 Tie with Hiroshima

Yomiuri Giants centerfielder Hideki Matsui is on a homer binge, as he raked his 27th of the year and eighth in eight games in this one, but at the end of the night Friday, all it got him was part of a 2-2 tie with the Hiroshima Carp, the second deadlock in as many days for the fish.

Of course, it was Kimiyasu Kudoh on the mound not getting much run support again after two recent outings where he was the beneficiary of oodles of runs manufactured by his teammates. However, he did strikeout three to run his career empties total to 2271, elevating him into a tie with Hanshin great Minoru Murayama for ninth on the all time list in that category.

Utility man Takuya Kimura staked Hiroshima to a 1-0 lead when he walloped a Kudoh delivery over the leftfield fence in the first. Matsui then responded for the Giants by roasting a hanging changeup from Carp starter Ken Takahashi and unleashing a towering drive well beyond the rightfield fence to knot it at 1-1.

Matsui's teammates then got into the act in the same frame, when third baseman Daisuke Motoki legged out a bleeder toward third. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe laced a double to rightcenter. Satoshi Kuroda singled to center and Motoki jogged in with a 2-1 Giants edge.

That's the way it stayed until the seventh, when Kudoh left a pitch up and out over the plate to Carp third baseman Takahiro Arai, who has been busy with the longball himself lately, and he cannonaded it over the rightcenterfield fence to level the score at 2-2.

While Hiroshima's relievers completely shutdown Yomiuri's attack, the Carp put men on first and second with two outs in each of the final four innings, but couldn't get the clutch hit and it was called after 12 as per the rules in Japanese pro ball.

Matsui now leads in two of the three Triple Crown categories, homers and RBIs, and at .329m he's making a run at the batting title, too. Against lefties this season, he is 53-150 for a .353 mark with 15 homers. So he is torching anybody who faces him.

For Hiroshima, second baseman Eddie Diaz was 1-5 with a walk and is at .295. First baseman Luis Lopez was 1-5 and is at .239.

Pitching Lines:

Yomiuri:

Kudoh                 IP 8.0 PC 103 H 6 HR 2 K 3 BB 0 R 2 ER 2 ERA 2.83
Okajima               IP 2.0 PC   45 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 4 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.32
Jobe                     IP 0.2 PC   17 H 1 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.20
Kawamoto          IP 0.1 PC     6 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.38
J. Kawahara        IP 1.0 PC   17 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.59

Hiroshima:

K. Takahashi       IP 8.0 PC 132 H 9 HR 1 K 6 BB 1 R 2 ER 2 ERA 3.42
Tamaki                  IP 2.0 PC   36 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.79
Hiroike                  IP 0.1 PC     4 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.73
Schullstrom          IP 0.2 PC   12 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Oyamada              IP 1.0 PC   22 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.24

E: T. Kimura
SB: T. Shimizu
2B: S. Abe, T. Shimizu
HR: T. Kimura (4), H. Matsui (27), Arai (17)
RBI: H. Matsui, Kuroda, T. Kimura, Arai
IBB: Diaz, Arai
GIDP: Lopez, Nioka, Kawai

Season Series: Yomiuri 9, Hiroshima 7, 1 Tie

Game Time: 4:52
Attendance: 21,000
Umpires: Kasahara (HP), Watada (1B), Mori (2B), Tomoyori (3B)

Kato Shuts Orix on Five Hits

24 year old Kosuke Kato had his best performance of an otherwise forgettable 2002 for him Friday, as he twirled a five hit complete game shutout, the first of his two year career, in an 8-0 Chiba Lotte Marines victory over the Orix Blue Wave at Kobe Green Stadium. Hidetaka Kawagoe was thumped for six runs, four earned, and was blamed for the defeat. This is the tenth time that Orix has been held scoreless this season.

After making a sliding catch of a basehit bid from Orix centerfielder Yoshitomo Tani to begin the bottom of the first, Takashi Tachikawa leadoff the top of the second by burying Kawagoe pitch in the leftcenterfield seats to make it 1-0 Lotte.

In the third, Tadaharu Sakai kicked off a Lotte uprising when he grounded to Fernando Seguignol, who booted it. Shortstop Makoto Kosaka doubled to rightcenter. Centerfielder Saburo Omura flew out to right and Sakai tagged up and hit the dish while Kosaka made for third. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura grounded to short and Kosaka checked in for a 3-0 Lotte advantage.

Lotte then put it away in the fifth. With one away, Sakai singled to right and Kosaka singled to center. Omura seared one down the leftfield line for an RBI double. Fukuura flew out to center to allow Kosaka to tag and score. DH Derrick May then went bomb's away to right and Lotte was in the catbird seat at 7-0.

Keeping his slider down at the knees and having both good movement and command of his fastball, Kato slithered out of a third inning bases loaded jam and basically cruised the rest of the way.

In the ninth, Kazunori Iyoda connected and, knowing it was gone as soon as he made contact, went into his first homer trot of the year to cap the scoring at 8-0.

Orix manager Hiromichi Ishige was not pleased with his club losing its third in a row in the wake of a five game winning skein. So he held a team practice after the game, which is rare even by Japanese pro standards.

For Lotte, May was 1-4 with two RBIs and is at .253.

For Orix, third baseman Scott Sheldon was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .267. Seguignol struckout both times he came up and made an error and is at .211.

Pitching Lines:

Lotte:

K. Kato (W, 5-9) IP 9.0 PC 124 H 5 HR 0 K 13 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 5.25

Orix:

Kawagoe (L, 3-9)   IP 4.1 PC 75 H 6 HR 1 K 5 BB 0 R 6 ER 4 ERA 4.72
Iwashita                  IP 1.0 PC 19 H 1 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 8.38
Tokumoto               IP 2.2 PC 35 H 1 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 4.03
Motoyanagi           IP 1.0 PC 14 H 2 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 5.40

E: Seguignol
2B: Kosaka, S. Omura, Tsuji, Tamaki
HR: Tachikawa (5), May (11), Iyoda (1)
RBI: S. Omura 2, Fukuura 2, May 2, Tachikawa, Iyoda
SF: S. Omura, Fukuura
HBP: S. Omura (Kawagoe), Hidaka (K. Kato)
GIDP: Fukuura

Season Series: Lotte 9, Orix 9

Game Time: 2:55
Attendance: 12,000
Umpires: Kodera (HP), Iizuka (1B), Fujimoto (2B), Maeda (3B)

Sheldon Making the Adjustment to Japanese Baseball

See Japan Times story at: http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getsp.pl5?sb20020803a2.htm

49ers to Honor Yomiuri Giants Yonamine

See Yomiuri Shimbun story in english at: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020803wo51.htm

Doosan Breaks Nine Game Losing Streak in KBO Action

See Korea Times story at: http://www.hankooki.com/kt_sports/200208/t2002080217013847110.htm

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for August 2nd and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1966, Chunichi Dragons rookie outfielder Isao Hirono slugged a come from behind walk off grand slam off of Yomiuri Giants first year man Tsuneo Horiuchi, putting an end to Horiuchi's record 13 consecutive win streak since the beginning of the season. Horiuchi ended up 16-2 with a 1.39 ERA and seven shutouts that year in 181 innings, striking out 117 and walking 69. He also took home a Sawamura Award.

August 1, 2002

Note to Readers

Sorry I haven't published anything the last several days. I had a pain in the butt computer problem that is now resolved. What I'm going to do is that since I'm so far behind is that I will write up what happened today and then, when I have time, I'll do the articles for what happened during the time I was offline. Those will be in the past articles section. Sorry for the sudden disappearance. It appears that I'm back just in time, though, since....

Kawakami Throws No Hitter Against Giants

For the first time in more than two years, somebody has twirled a no hitter in Japanese pro ball, as Chunichi Dragons righthander Kenshin Kawakami, a former 1997 number one draft choice and 1998 Rookie of the Year, needed only an economical 102 pitches to send the Yomiuri Giants away without anything falling safely in a 6-0 victory by the Nagoya outfit
at Tokyo Dome Thursday. The Meiji University grad was backed by homers from rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome and second baseman Masahiro Araki as well as a wall rattling catch by centerfielder Koichi Sekikawa to become the 70th hurler in Japanese history to toss at least one no no (there have been 81 such games in pro yakyu annals) during their career and the ninth from the Dragons staff.

Yusaku Iriki started for Yomiuri and was battered for six runs, all earned, on six hits in six innings while striking out three and walking two and hitting a man.

While Kawakami was feeking the lefthanders in the Giants lineup a steady diet of cut fastballs, a pitch he added to his arsenal this spring, Fukudome fired the first big offensive salvo of the night when he jacked an Iriki offering over the leftfield fence for his first homer since June 20th, when he went deep against Yakult, and it was 1-0 Dragons.

The big blow of the contest came in the fifth, when Sekikawa doubled off the centerfield wall and, two outs later, shortstop Hirokazu Ibata walked. Araki, a punch hitter with speed, then stepped up and got all of a hanging changeup and propelled it over the leftfield foul pole to make it 4-0 Dragons. Giants manager Tatsunori Hara came out to argue the call, but it stuck and the home nine were down by a granny.

Hara left Iriki in and he was spanked again in the sixth. With one out, Iriki nailed third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami. One out later, Sekikawa torched another shot off the centerfield fence and Tatsunami motored in with his team's fifth run. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige, in his 1500th lifetime game, then singled to center and Sekikawa hustled in to put his side in control at 6-0.

In the eighth and with two gone, Giants second baseman Daisuke Motoki belted a high drive to rightcenter. Sekikawa got on his horse and made a leaping catch as he collided with the fence, knocking the wind out of him. More importantly, however, he held on to the ball and the inning was in the books.

Kawakami, who had been joking with Ibata since the fourth about throwing a no hitter, induced a groundout to short for the first out of the ninth. He stated after the game that it then hit him that he might actually pull it off and he was literally shaking and he was afflicted with cotton mouth. Pinch hitter Koji Goto grounded out to first for the second out. Now leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu, who has been competing for the batting title most of the year, was up. Kawakami wound and threw a forkball that Shimizu, who was in an 0-18 slump, slapped up toward the middle of the diamond. The quickfooted Ibata cut it off near the bag and threw a strike to first baseman Hiroyuki Watanabe and Kawakami was mobbed by his teammates. To go along with the rare feat, the triumph ended a team record tying nine straight losses to the Tokyo contingent.

Kawakami's former coach at Meiji, Takehiko Beppu, 76, was watching via television and he celebrated privately there. Kawakami's parents, Koichi and Akemi, and his older sister, saw it on the tube from their home. "We'll have to buy presents for the fielders behind him," Akemi offered to reporters. She also hopes that he'll get married soon and present her with a grandchild.

Ironically, it was Shimizu, who made the final out, who cost Kawakami a perfect game, when he walked to start the
fourth.

Giants centerfielder Hideki Matsui was jammed to beat the band by Kawakami and whiffed all three times he came up.

The 27 year old Kawakami had never woven a no hitter at any level, not at Tokushima Commercial High School, not in college, not at anytime. The last time anyone had rung one up was by Narciso Elvira of the Kintetsu Buffaloes on June 20, 2000 against the Seibu Lions. In the Central League, the most recent zero in the hits column was when the Dragons Melvin Bunch victimized the Yokohama Bay Stars on April 7, 2000. Interestingly, Tanishige was a member of the Stars at that time. This was the first no hitter he's ever caught.

But no hitters don't have a history of derailing a Giants season, if a series of stats run by Sankei Sports (who also provided many of the other stats I cite here) are any indication. The last time they were no hit was in 1986 by another Dragon, Shigeki Noguchi, and they went on a six game winning spree beginning the following day. They are 6-1 in games right after a no hitter and five of those seven previous occasions came in years in which they won the pennant. They were no hit for the initial time in
team history in 1940 by Hachiro Miwa of the Hanshin Tigers, then promptly ripped off 12 straight victories. So those of us who are fans of other teams have no reason to expect a collapse.

For Yomiuri, first baseman Omar Linares was 0-4 with two strikeouts .167.

Pitching Lines:

Chunichi:

Kawakami (W, 6-3) IP 9.0 PC 102 H 0 HR 0 K 5 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.52

Yomiuri:

Y. Iriki (L, 4-2) IP 6.0 PC 27 H 6 HR 2 K 7 BB 3 R 6 ER 6 ERA 3.75
Takeda IP 3.0 PC 36 H 2 HR 0 K 4 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.10

E: Kawanaka
2B: Sekikawa 2, Ibata
HR: Fukudome (12), Araki (1)
RBI: Araki 3, Fukudome, Sekikawa, Tanishige
HBP: Tatsunami (Y. Iriki)

Season Series: Chunichi 7, Yomiuri 13

Game Time: 2:52
Attendance: 55,000
Umpires: Kamimoto (HP), Suginaga (1B), K. Kobayashi (2B), Sasaki (3B)

Kawajiri Shuts Out Yokohama on Six Hits 4-0

Hanshin Tigers sidearmer Tetsuro Kawajiri had his best outing of the year, going eight shutout innings and limiting the Yokohama Bay Stars to six hits and striking out seven while walking just one to keep his team within semi-respectable range of the frontrunning Yomiuri Giants. Rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka homered twice for the first time in his career and drove in a personal single game best of four runs to supply all the offense that the Osaka bunch would require to take it 4-0 at Koshien before one of the smallest crowds of the season (28,000). This was also the fourth shutout a Hanshin moundsman has fashioned against Yokohama.

Masao Morinaka started for Yokohama and wasn't horrible, but he wasn't that great and absorbed his fourth loss against a single shiroboshi after 5.2 innings of three run, six hit ball.

With the game scoreless, Hamanaka walked up with one down in the bottom of the second and drilled a 3-0 86mph fastball into the leftfield stands to get the Tigers out to a 1-0 lead. That was his 15th consecutive solo homer. Somebody introduce this guy to Rafael Palmeiro.

The Stars tried to knot it in the sixth, but were frustrated. Shortstop Takuro Ishii leadoff with a double down the leftfield line. Second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa singled to center. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi grabbed the ball and whipped it on the fly to catcher Akihiro Yano, who applied the tag and Hanshin's advantage remained intact.

In the bottom of the inning, second baseman Makoto Imaoka singled to center and was sacrificed to second. One out later, First baseman Katsumi Hirosawa singled to right. Hamanaka was next. He had put up a lowly .211 average with runners in scoring position to that point. Yokohama manager Masaaki Mori went to the pen for Masahide Yone. Yone ran a slider up there and Hamanaka deposited it in the leftcenterfield seats and it was 4-0 Tigers. The solo dinger streak was thus terminated.

In the eighth, Hanshin's defense snuffed out another incipient rally. Pinch hitter Kazunori Tanaka walked and went to second on a groundout. Ishii singled to right and defensive replacement Fumikazu Takanami gloved it and made a strong throw to Yano to shoot down Tanaka. That was the final time any Yokohama player reached base.

For Hanshin, leftfielder Derrick White was 0-3 with two strikeouts and is at .232.

For Yokohama, rightfielder Boi Rodrigues was 1-4 and is at .281. Third baseman Mike Gulan was 0-3 and is at .227.

Pitching Lines:

Yokohama:

Morinaka (L, 1-4) IP 5.2 PC 83 H 6 HR 1 K 6 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 5.45
Yone IP 1.1 PC 25 H 1 HR 1 K 2 BB 0 R 1 ER 1 ERA 8.10
Hosomi IP 1.0 PC 17 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.58

Hanshin:

Kawajiri (W, 1-2) IP 8.0 PC 106 H 6 HR 0 K 7 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.96
Kanazawa IP 1.0 PC 10 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.23

E: Ogawa, Hirosawa, Sekimoto
2B: Rodrigues, Hamanaka, T. Ishii
HR: Hamanaka 2 (0
RBI: Hamanaka 4
GIDP: White, Gulan

Season Series: Yokohama 6, Hanshin 14 1 Tie

Game Time: 2:47
Attendance: 26,000
Umpires: Nishimoto (HP), Arisumi (1B), Tomoyori (2B), Kasahara (3B)

Yakult Comes from Five Back to Tie Hiroshima 6-6

With their recent fortunes sinking like the proverbial stone and behind 5-0 in the sixth during a driving rain, things didn't seem very ideal for the Yakult Swallows to prevail in this one. And they didn't. But then again, neither did the Hiroshima Carp, as the birds staged a tremendous comeback to knot it at 6-6 before it was called upon the conclusion of the 12th inning.

Yasushi Tsuruta started for Hiroshima and was cruising along before Carp boss Koji Yamamoto made an ill advised pitching change in the sixth that ignited the Yakult rally that ultimately evened it. His line score was 5.1 innings pitched, one earned run on four hits and walking one while striking out two.

Rookie screwballer Masanori Ishikawa started for Yakult and he was lit up in the third to begin his downfall. With one down, Hiroshima centerfielder Koichi Ogata singled to center. Takuya Kimura legged out a tapper toward third. Second baseman Eddie Diaz singled to left to usher in Ogata. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto then crushed one and left it in the no
deposit, no return section in rightcenter and it was 4-0 Carp.

In the sixth, Ishikawa saw one of his deliveries piledriven into the leftfield bleachers by third baseman Takahiro Arai and it was 5-0 Hiroshima. That ended a 19 game homer drought by Arai.

Yakult took their turn and shortstop Shinya Miyamoto leadoff with a single to left. After rightfielder Atsunori Inaba flew out to center, Yamamoto pulled Tsuruta in favor of Kanei Kobayashi. First baseman Roberto Petagine singled to right. Catcher Atsuya Furuta then put good wood on one and hurtled it into the leftfield stands, reducing the deficit to 5-3.

An inning later, Yakult leveled it when second baseman Chihiro Hamana doubled off the rightfield fence. One out later, centerfielder Mitsuru Manaka singled to center to drive in Hamana and went to second on the throw home. Miyamoto moved Manaka over with a sac bunt. Inaba legged out a bouncer toward third and that made it 5-5.

Alan Newman came on for the eighth and walked the first man he faced, Kanemoto. Newman then threw wildly to first and Kanemoto went to second and was subsequently moved over to third on a sac bunt. Rightfielder Tomonori Maeda singled to center and Hiroshima was ahead once more at 6-5.

Yakult third baseman Akinori Iwamura countered with a single to right to commence the bottom half. He somehow managed to get to third (the game log doesn't say how). Leftfielder Alex Ramirez struckout. Yakult manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu then called for the squeeze and backup second baseman Noriyuki Shiroishi did the job to convert Iwamura to make it 6-6.

Neither team did anything else offensively afterward and it concluded in a 6-6 tie.

For Hiroshima, Diaz was 2-6 with an RBI and is at .297. First baseman Luis Lopez was 0-3 and is at .240.

For Yakult, Petagine was 3-4 with two walks and is at .328. Ramirez was 0-5 with three strikeouts and is at .300.

Pitching Lines:

Hiroshima:

Tsuruta               IP 5.1 PC 74 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 1 R 1 ER 1 ERA 6.00
K. Kobayashi     IP 0.2 PC 22 H 3 HR 1 K 1 BB 0 R 3 ER 3 ERA 2.58
Tamaki               IP 2.0 PC 32 H 4 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 2 ER 1 ERA 2.95
Schullstrom         IP 2.0 PC 34 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER 0 ERA 0.00
Hiroike               IP 1.0 PC 28 H 0 HR 0 K 1 BB 1 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.77
Oyamada           IP 1.0 PC   9 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.29

Yakult:

Masanori Ishikawa    IP 6.0 PC 99 H 8 HR 2 K 3 BB 1 R 5 ER 5 ERA 3.97
Kawabata                 IP 1.0 PC 14 H 0 HR 0 K 2 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.52
Newman                   IP 0.1 PC 14 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER 1 ERA 3.17
R. Igarashi                 IP 0.2 PC 2 H 0 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 1.77
H. Ishii                      IP 3.0 PC 26 H 2 HR 0 K 1 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 2.03
Takatsu                     IP 1.0 PC 23 H 1 HR 0 K 0 BB 0 R 0 ER 0 ERA 3.21

E: Newman
2B: Hamana
HR: Kanemoto (17), Arai (16), Furuta (4)
RBI: Diaz, Kanemoto 3, T. Maeda, Arai, Manaka, Inaba, Furuta 3,Shiroishi
IBB: Petagine
GIDP: Nishiyama

Season Series: Hiroshima 9, Yakult 7 2 Ties

Game Time: 4:20
Attendance: 18,000
Umpires: Shikida (HP), Kittaka (1B), Tani (2B), Manabe (2B)

Yoshihiro Itoh, Kazuhiro Sasaki's College Baseball Coach, Dies

Yoshihiro Itoh, who coached both Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki and Boston Red Sox prospect Ryo Kumagai as well as nearly 30 other eventual pro players at Tohoku Fukushi University, died just after midnight August 1st of respiratory arrest at a Miyagi Prefecture hospital. He was 56.

An Osaka native, Itoh matriculated at Shibaura Industrial College before returning to his high school alma mater, Sakuramiya High School, to run the baseball team there in 1973. Eleven years later, he moved to Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai and built a dynasty, winning 34 of 35 possible league titles in 17 years plus (there are two seasons in Japanese university ball), winning an All Japan Collegiate Baseball Tournament title in 1991, the school's first. At one point, his teams racked up 118 straight league game victories. For the totality of his career at Tohoku, Itoh went 349-12-3. He also worked as an official of the Japanese olympic baseball squad that played at the Atlanta Olympic Games.

Itoh beat liver cancer after being diagnosed with it in October, 2000, but since last fall was in and out of the hospital and sat out this year's All Japan University Baseball Tournament, where Tohoku slotted into the final four.

Since his institution wasn't one of the glamor schools such as the ones in the Tokyo Big Six University League, he developed an eye for raw talent that no other higher prestige schools were interested in. Among those who played under Itoh was Sasaki, who commented, "when I was at unversity, I caused him nothing but grief," said the Daimajin, who experienced back troubles during his freshman year at Tohoku. Itoh was noted for allowing his injured players to fully heal before jumping
back in uniform, a contrast to the more anxious style of other Japanese univiersity coaches. "If it wasn't for coach Itoh, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Submariner Ryo Kumagai, who was signed by the Boston Red Sox and is in A ball for them now, was a recent grad, as was Yuji Yoshimi of the Yokohama Bay Stars, another hurler, who has a shot at winning the Rookie of the Year.

Long after they left the college ranks behind, his ex-players still would call Itoh to ask for advice on matters both baseball and personal.

Itoh is survived by his wife and three sons. The youngest, Takashi, is a tv personality. There is talk among various professional Tohoku alumni of putting together a charity even in the late coach's name.

Today in Japanese Baseball History

This report is for August 1st and on that date in Japanese baseball history in 1977, in the wake of the Noriyoshi Sano incident where an outfielder ran into an outfield wall and was knocked out cold with a skull fracture, the umpires were given the ability to call time when a player's well being was threatened.

Also on that date in 1951, 39 year old Shochiku Robins outfielder Yoshiyuki Iwamoto became the first player ever to homer four times in a game. He had a double to accompany the longball, and the 18 total bases was also a new record. That season, he slammed 31 homers and batted .351. He was a .275 career hitter in ten seasons with 123 lifetime bombs. Interestingly, he didn't play between 1943-1948 after spending three years with Nankai. .

Also on that date in 1955, the Tombo Unions (later merged with another team) committed 10 errors, a record. The team's pitchers were tattooed for 20 hits and ended up losing 13-0.

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